Playing At Grownups
by starshards
Summary: Coming to terms with being different is not easy, especially when you have to overcome a lifetime of prejudice. But is happiness really happiness without the long, hard path that leads you there? KaRe
1. Find me Somebody to Love

**_Playing at Grownups- A coming of age story_**_  
_

T_he overall theme of this story is coming to terms with being different and over-coming a lifetime of prejudice. As someone who lived in China for five months, I've come to understand a lot more about mainland Chinese people and so, I hope to use this in Rei's characterisation._

_This story will have cursing, it will have offensive terms, it will have under age drinking and it will have sex _

_At present I have 21000 words, 40 pages and five chapters of this written, so I can promise fairly consistent updates._

_This **will** be Kai Hiwatari x Rei Kon.  
_

Chapter 1/??

**"Find Me Somebody To Love."**

* * *

She was drop-dead gorgeous. She knew it too, of course. Silky, flowing hair; large, expressive eyes; soft, womanly curves; long legs, full lips… the kind of girl that caught the eyes of movie stars and yet there she was, staring with those large, expressive eyes and smiling with those full lips at the luckiest Beyblader in the world. 

Yes, Rei Kon was one lucky young man.

At least, that's what he was telling himself as he tried to look interested in whatever it was she was rambling about.

"And that's when I knew that my future lay in physiotherapy," she finished her current anecdote. She flushed slightly then and offered him a girlish little giggle that was rather charming. "And, well, not to be presumptuous, but I'd love to give you an example of my skills some day. I'm sure you'd appreciate it, being a sportsman and all that."

"I'd be delighted, Miss Shirou," Rei lied, though he feigned his sunniest smile.

"Please! How many times do I have to tell you to stop being such a gentleman! Call me Sunako" his date shook her head, though her cute little blush and giggles spoke volumes of just how 'exasperated' she was.

She really did look like the kind of girl you'd find on a glossy magazine cover, Rei mused.

"Oh! Will you please excuse me, Rei? I need to go and powder my nose," Sunako said, already pushing her chair back from the table and standing up.

"Sure, that's fine," Rei replied, fake smile still firmly in place. It really was all that he _could_ say. Honestly, women were such strange creatures. Why couldn't they just say that they needed the toilet like a guy would? There wasn't exactly any shame in it. Not that Rei would announce 'I need a piss' whenever he was at a meal, he was far too polite of course, but he wasn't exactly shy about admitting to having human needs every now and again. It was illogical.

With a bored sigh, he fished his phone out of his pocket and flipped it open, checking the time. His heart sank when he realised that the American Beyblade qualifiers had already begun. He'd been hoping that he would be home in time to catch them.

He put his phone away and reached out to take another sip of water, just as his date re-emerged from the toilets. She sat down and gave him a pretty smile. Rei smiled back, absentmindedly tapping his fingers against his thigh under the table.

"So…" she prompted after a few moments of silence.

Rei figured that that was his cue to make some sort of conversation. "I… ah… oh! Do you want some dessert?" he asked. She couldn't say no to that, right? She was a woman and women loved cake and things like that.

"Yes, that's a great idea!" she said, though she looked a little disappointed that Rei wasn't yet opening up to her and telling her his innermost thoughts and feelings. Rei mentally snorted at that. What business was it of anyone else? Really? Really? Mao had used to be the same when she was younger, and Hiromi had prodded at him a couple of times. It wasn't that he didn't have thoughts and feelings and all that. Of course he did. He was human, and a sensitive one at that. In fact he was the most empathic member of the BBA –if not all bladers- out there.

The only problem was that for some reason that immediate understanding and ability to read people didn't transfer very well to dates, which shot his confidence to pieces because he was _sure_ that somewhere out there rumours were beginning to circulate that Rei Kon was a very bad date.

Because he was. He _really_ was.

Still, he mused as the waiter bought them the dessert menu, it wasn't exactly his fault that girls were so awkward. All of the girls that he'd dated were too pushy, too expectant or too laid back. How was he supposed to feel comfortable with them and pursue a relationship with them with that sort of pressure hanging over his head?

All he needed was to find that one girl who was perfect for him- that girl who he could share so many firsts with, without him feeling inadequate or embarrassed.

Maybe _this_ time, he'd found that girl.

"Oh, look! Chocolate cake!" Rei smiled, knowing that girls (not to mention he) loved chocolate.

She glanced at it and pulled a face. "No thanks. I can't eat that, but it looks really nice!"

Rei was perplexed at that. "Why can't you eat it, then?"

"Oh," she replied with a little pat on her stomach, "too many carbs, and I already filled my daily allowance when I had those potatoes."

"…Oh." And 'oh' really _was_ the only reply that he could think up. He'd learned that lesson with a few dates during the summer, but he'd all too happily forgotten about it. Feeling suddenly self-conscious, he ordered a fruit salad, which he knew full well he would only poke at because he really, really wanted that chocolate cake.

But on the plus side, at least he wouldn't look like a fat bastard.

Unsurprisingly, his date ordered the same and after several more joyful minutes of hearing about the health benefits of the individual fruit make-up of their healthy, bland dessert, Rei subtly deemed the meal over.

"Well, I hope that those fruit's natural sugars give me the energy I need in the morning. I have to be up for training at six so…" he left the rest of the sentence, waiting for his date to figure out what he was implying.

She blinked, her brow creasing in disappointment before she quickly covered it up with a feigned smile. "Six! The busy life of being a famous sportsman, eh?"

"Yes, Kai can be a tough customer when he wants to be," Rei smiled back, silently apologising to his friend. Rei always used the Kai excuse when he had to lie about getting up early, playing on the public image that Kai was mean, ruthless and an obsessive perfectionist, when truth be told, Kai liked a lie-in as much as the next nineteen-year-old boy. Of course, Kai subtly encouraged that perception of him because half the time, his opponent had already pissed their pants before they'd even stepped up to the dish.

The image of their fearless captain, glaring half-heartedly at him and Takao, spoon dangling from his mouth entered his mind. He laughed. If only they could see the Kai he knew.

His date gave him a curious look, and it took Rei a moment to realise that he'd laughed aloud.

Colouring, he added; "Well, training is very, _very_ important," he said, stressing the second very, just to erase any doubt in her mind that it was simply just 'important.' "Yes, it's all about hard work and determination!"

"Well, since you have to be up so early, how about we get the bill? Of course I'd love to talk to you some more, but I don't want for you to get into trouble because of me," she said sweetly, though he knew she didn't mean a word of it. Still, he could have hugged her at that moment for catching on.

"Oh! Are you sure that that's okay? I'd hate for you to think that I was bad company!" He said with his best 'sincere face', trying to sound gracious enough to make her feel liked, but not eager enough to make her think that Rei was considering that their early relationship might blossom into something serious yet.

"Not at all, Rei," that was something else that annoyed Rei- when people insisted on him using their first name, he felt obliged to return the gesture and, truth be told, he didn't feel comfortable with virtual strangers addressing him by first name- "as a physiotherapist, I fully understand how important strict training schedules are."

Rei nodded gratefully and called for the bill. Being a gentleman, he made to pay, but his date had laughed it off, claiming to be a new-age woman and so they ended up splitting the bill, which irked not only his masculine ways, but also his Chinese upbringing, though very quietly and very secretly he was a little relieved as the bill had turned out to be pricier than he'd anticipated. Upon the return of his card, he rose from the table and walked slowly towards the restaurant's foyer.

"Would you like for me to give you a lift back home?" he offered. He didn't like the idea of girls catching taxis back on their own. Mao had told him years ago that he was overly protective of girls, and that they could take care of themselves. On a couple of occasions she'd even called him sexist, though her expression would always soften straight after and say that he was the '_good kind'._ The other girls that he'd dated called it chivalrous, so Rei shrugged it off to worry about another day.

"Would you mind? I mean, I live all the way in Shinjuku…" she protested, though Rei knew that it was a weak one.

"Come on," he nodded towards the doors. "I live in Shibuya anyway."

He led her out to the car he shared with Kai and, when they reached 18 and took their tests, Takao and Max. Mr Daitenji had bought it for them when Kai and Rei had moved into their new apartment. The others had been surprised at Kai's willingness to live in their moderate apartment rather than his Tokyo-based mansion with his mother, father and house staff, but Rei knew Kai well enough to know that he wanted to experience a relatively normal, stable life- if only for a year or two.

The trip to Shirou Sunako's home was mostly quiet, broken only by the faint sound of music and the woman voicing directions. It was only a few kilometres later that they were parked up outside a generic looking apartment complex. Feeling compelled to, Rei exited the car and walked his date to the door.

"I had a wonderful time, Rei," she said softly.

"Me too," Rei said with his most charming smile while trying to resist the urge to shuffle his feet.

"I… will I see you again, Rei?" she asked, and Rei couldn't help but feel nervous at the pleading look in her eyes. "It's just… I've heard that you date a lot of girls and I just want to know if I'm going to be forgotten about tomorrow, because I really, really like you," she finished almost in a whisper, looking almost ashamed.

And Rei, riddled with guilt, didn't have a clue what to say. "Uhhh, well as you know, my blading has to come first. That's why I date so many girls; they find it hard to deal with my schedule and move on," he was lying through his teeth, but it beat telling the truth any day.

"I understand, Rei. As with me, my career must come first, but, I enjoyed tonight nonetheless," she smiled, though it looked a little sad.

And then suddenly, her hand was on his shoulder and she was leaning in. Rei could practically taste her breath before his senses kicked in and he jerked back. His date's half-lidded eyes snapped back open and she stared at him in disbelief, shock and hurt. "I… I thought…" she gaped, suddenly looking mortified.

Rei cursed himself severely internally. "No, no! It's not like that! I think you're absolutely beautiful, but it's just… I don't kiss on a first date. I prefer to wait until the second or third date!" Rei wanted to bite off his runaway tongue when he saw her eyes light up suddenly. Where the Hell was he _getting_ this stuff from?

"So… so you think there'll be a second and third date?" she said coyly.

Hoping it would distract her, Rei quickly leaned in to press a kiss that was more to the air than her cheek. "Sure, but we've got an important match coming up, so I'll be busy for a little while." He was already backing down the path and reaching behind him for the car door handle. "Sleep well!" he waved with a benign smile, waiting for her to wave back before he dived into his car. He watched her go inside before he released a huge sigh and dropped his forehead to the driving wheel.

He abhorred, detested and hated lying, but…

Heaving another sigh, he fished out his phone again and glanced at the time. If he rushed home, he would probably catch the end of the American qualifiers. The thought brightened his mood and he set off for home.

**_xxx_**

Shrugging off his coat as soon as he walked through his front door, Rei tossed it onto a coat hook and threw his keys into the bowl on the table where the house phone sat. He toed off his shoes and sauntered through the darkened living room and into the adjoining kitchen.

"Grab me a beer too?" A voice interrupted his rummaging through the fridge and he rolled his eyes, though he still picked up two cans instead of one. Knocking the fridge shut with his hip, Rei strolled out into the living room and flopped down onto the sofa with a heavy sigh. Wordlessly he offered one of the cans, which Kai wasted no time in taking and tearing open.

"How's it going?" Rei asked as soon as he'd taken a deep gulp.

"Allstarz are dominating it, but any idiot could have guessed that. There's an interesting all-girls team though. One of them beat Eddy and another came close with Emily, though their cheerleader theme is extremely annoying. There's a couple of others too, which I'm sure PPB have noticed." Kai said, though his eyes didn't shift away from the television screen.

"How are the Allstarz doing themselves?" Rei couldn't help but enquire, seeing as he was still a little sore about his loss to Eddy all those years ago.

"No match for us," Kai said simply. He suddenly looked at Rei and smirked. "You'd destroy Eddy."

Rei smirked in return, grateful for Kai's weird ability to know what he was thinking, and took another drink of beer. A sudden thought occurred to him. "Wasn't Takao going to come around and watch it with you?"

Takao, despite living in his grandfather's dojo still, tended to spend more time in their apartment than he did at home. Max also made it a point to come around almost every day, and Kyouju and Hiromi visited on the occasional weeknight, and on the weekend. It wasn't a problem, since Mr Daitenji had arranged the apartment as a 'home for Team BBA', but it was really only Kai and Rei who lived there because Kai didn't seem too pleased at the prospect of living with his parents, and Rei had an otherwise killer commute.

"He was, but then Hitoshi invited him to go to the cinema with him," Kai shrugged, obviously not feeling too put out by it.

"It's nice that they're spending time together outside of beyblading," Rei mused, drawing his feet up onto the sofa.

"Hmm," Kai agreed.

They slipped into a comfortable silence for a while; eyes transfixed on the flickering screen- the only source of light in the room.

"How'd the date go?" Kai asked, the suddenness of the question startling Rei.

Rei shrugged.

"What happened?" Kai continued to watch the beybattle on the screen, and if Rei knew him slightly less well, he would have believed that Kai was only asking out of courtesy.

Rei had, however, learned a long time ago that Kai didn't _do_ courtesy and asked questions because he was genuinely interested. "She's… pretty much perfect. Pretty… well, more stunning, and really fit and healthy too because she's a physiotherapist. She likes some sports and she's really nice and sweet."

"…But?"

Damn it, Kai knew him _far_ too well. "… I don't know." Rei heaved a sigh and stared down at his beer can.

Kai actually turned to regard him, and something akin to pity shone in his eyes. "You going to see her again?"

"… I don't know," Rei bit his lip. "I kind of implied that we'd have a second and third date."

"Why?" One of Kai's eyebrows rose.

"She… she tried to kiss me." Rei's face flamed.

"Ah," said Kai.

Rei busied himself with draining the rest of his can. "Want another?" he asked, already standing.

"Sure," Kai replied, eyes back on the screen.

Once in the kitchen, Rei buried his face in the fridge, trying to cool down his raging blush. He had no reason to blush, not really. Kai was the only person who knew about his complete and utter inexperience, and had never once made him feel like an idiot for it.

Because the sad, sad truth was that, despite the fact that Rei dated girls almost weekly he had never once actually _kissed_ any of them. In fact, he'd never kissed _anyone_. He wasn't ashamed of it, per see, but it did kind of wound his masculine pride that Takao had kissed someone the previous year, and Max had kissed someone at Rei's birthday party when he'd been a bit tipsy. He wasn't too sure about Kai, but since he was older _and_ better looking, Rei had to assume that he had. The thought of that rather hurt though, because as a rule, he and Kai were totally honest with one another, as neither saw a point in playing silly mind games. Rei had even told him of the great embarrassment that was being eighteen years old and totally, _utterly_ inexperienced, so Kai wasn't right to hold these things back from him.

Still, he thought as he pulled out two beers and closed the door again, he wasn't about to push, as it had taken a long time to develop the close friendship he had with Kai.

Absentmindedly, Rei tapped on one of the beer cans, before shrugging and shoving the thought to the back of his mind. He left the room and headed back to the sofa, flopping down next to Kai once again.

Kai was flicking through the channels, before he settled on some sort of action movie that, from the looks of the explosions, was already half- way through.

Clearly bored, he turned his attention back to Rei. "Will you see her again?"

Rei sighed and curled his legs up onto the couch between himself and Kai, all the while toying with the ring-pull of his can. "I don't think so," he said after a short while.

"What was wrong with her?"

Rei's face scrunched up. "There was nothing exactly _wrong_ with her. She was… wonderful. It's just, I might have, sort of implied that I'd kiss her on the second date." He blushed brightly at that and tried to hide it by taking a mouthful of beer.

"Well… maybe she's the one to do that with. She sounds nice enough," Kai supplied.

"You should have seen her, Kai. She was really, really beautiful. The last thing I want to do is make a fool out of myself," Rei grumbled.

"Rei… why do you go on these dates if all you're going to do is run away at the end of them and never call them back?" Kai's voice didn't rise, but Rei could clearly sense the disapproval behind it. "You're going to get a really bad reputation at this rate- and not even as a playboy," he scoffed.

Rei winced, well aware that the term 'playboy' was a backhanded compliment amongst men, as, for some reason, it seemed to score you macho-points. The way Kai had said it made it seem that it would be better to _be_ a playboy than this flighty mass of teenage angst and indecision.

"I'm ok… I'm alright," Rei insisted, forcing a smile to prove it. "I ain't gonna face defeat just yet," he joked in a mock Osaka accent to try and disperse the sudden tension he felt.

Kai looked a little unconvinced. "She's a physio. She might come in handy," Kai tried, more softly this time, which Rei knew was a sort of unspoken apology for being a little snappy.

"I think Hiromi does a much better job than _she_ ever could," Rei grinned.

Kai let out a brief chuckle. "Ahh. Makes me wonder how I still have my fierce reputation. That girl could break even me."

They fell back into comfortable silence, watching the end of the movie and then flicking over to the news. Rei had long since finished his can and was idly rolling it between his hands. He was tired, he realised. That's why he was staring at the screen without actually seeing anything.

He set the can on the table and sighed, the motion and noise catching Kai's attention. "I don't know what else I can do," he said miserably.

Kai said nothing, but turned to face him, indicating that he was listening and paying attention.

One of Rei's hands found his forehead, rubbing fingertips tiredly against his skin. "I don't understand why I'm _so_ hesitant with these things. I don't even buy into this first kiss bullshit. I don't want it to be some kind of magical, wonderful moment. I just want to get it out of the Goddamned way." He took a deep breath. "It's not even that I want to have my first kiss with the love of my life, or some sappy crap like that. I just… I go from girl to girl because I just want to find one that I _click_ with, you know?" He looked at Kai desperately. "One that I feel_ comfortable_ with. Kissing it's… intimate. It's about letting your guard down and letting someone taste and feel you and _that_ scares me even more than being laughed at for my poor attempts at pretending I know what the Hell I'm doing. I just need… I just need that one kiss, you know? That kiss that will break down the barriers, it'll get me over this intimacy thing. If I could just kiss _one_ of my dates, I could kiss anyone I dated after that because I'd have that _confidence_. I'd _know_ what I was doing and I wouldn't feel like such a moron all of the time." He spread his hands before him, unaware that it looked almost begging. "I just need it to be with someone I'm comfortable with. Someone I can let my guard down with. Someone who was more like a friend, who could laugh it off when I made a mess of things. Someone who I just …_click_with. Someone… someone… so comfortable… so…"

And for some reason, as he lapsed into silence, sentence and thought spiralling into nothing, utterly forgotten, Rei realised that Kai was staring at him intently and that he was staring right back.

After a long moment, a thought sprang unbidden to their minds, but before they had a chance to fully realise its existence, they both simultaneously snapped their gazes away from one another and almost in a hurry; Kai stood up and cleared his throat. "Do you want another beer?" he asked, already heading towards the kitchen.

"Uhh, no thanks," Rei replied. "I think I'm going to go to bed, I'm really tired." He too was already off the couch as he spoke, heading towards his room without waiting for Kai's response.

Once inside his room, he simply stood, staring blankly at the deep maroon carpet, trying to figure out why it felt like he'd just ran away from his best friend. And more so; why on Earth his heart was pounding.

* * *

_TBC..._


	2. In a Day or Two

_Warning: This story from here on out will contain several scenes of masturbation. This is because a) Rei Kon is a man and I know for a fact that most young adult males have a wank once every day or two. This is normal and it happens. That means that Rei will indeed be wanking from time to time because he is in fact not a crudely disguised teenage girl, which all ties into b) the fact that this story centres around a lot of repressed sexuality. Since self-love is the only form of sexual act Rei knows for most of this story, it's easier to show his subconscious progression through something as base as him jerking off, rather than drawn out internal monologues that would have him making transitions much to fast._

Current status: Halfway through chapter 7.

**"In A Day or Two."**

* * *

"You're a bastard," Kai said, not looking up from his newspaper. 

Rei puffed out his cheeks childishly. "It's been over a week. It's not _my_ fault that she's still calling."

"Well I'm not going to phone her up and tell her that I won't let you focus on anything but blading, like you made me with the last two." Rei couldn't see Kai's face, checking his reflection as he was, be he could tell from the tone of his voice that Kai was smirking at him.

"Some friend you are," Rei grumbled. He stepped away from the mirror and walked over to stand in front of Kai. "Do I look alright?" he asked.

Kai shrugged. "Sure." He looked back at his newspaper. "Where'd you meet _this_ one?" he asked, but didn't sound overly interested.

"Supermarket," Rei responded, eyeing the sports news on the back page. "What are you doing to do tonight anyway?"

Kai sniffed. "I'm not sure. Takao and Max are busy, and I've trained enough today, and there's nothing good on television, so I might just order a pizza and watch a couple of DVDs."

"Sounds good," Rei replied. And it did. In fact, it suddenly seemed a lot more interesting than his own date at a fancy new Chinese restaurant. Rei frowned. No wonder he was driving himself into a bad reputation, if he had _that_ sort of attitude towards dates but still, he couldn't take the risk that he might be missing out on his perfect woman. Maybe tonight was the night that he'd meet her. She had, after all, been extremely lovely in the supermarket, and Rei had instantly been drawn to her, wanting nothing more than to sit down with her and discuss a lot of interesting things because she seemed to be very intelligent.

He glanced at his watch, and then forlornly at his and Kai's extensive DVD collection, before jamming his hands into the pockets of his nicely cut jeans. "Well… I supposed I'd better go," he mumbled.

Kai glanced at him over the top of his paper and stared at him in confusion. "If you don't want to go, then why go?"

Rei looked away a little sullenly. "Because this might be my chance. I feel good about it."

"On what basis?" Kai asked.

"She… she was really clever and… she liked the same cereal as me." Kai gave him a blank look. "Well maybe in future when we kiss, she'll… taste… nicer… Oh I don't know! Stop looking at me like that!" Rei glared at Kai who seemed to be biting back a laugh.

"Oh come _on_. You're making potential choices for your future based upon cereal choice, when most guys just go for a nice pair of tits and ass." Kai was smirking now, ill contained humour glinting in his eyes. "It's almost adorable."

Rei scowled at him but "Fuck you," was the best reply that he could come up with as he stomped over to grab his coat and shrug it on, ignoring Kai's deep chuckles.

He was reaching for the door handle when Kai's voice rang out across their apartment. "Rei!" his voice was a little more serious and Rei turned around to find him leaning over the back of the sofa, head resting on the top of the backrest, eyes fixed on him. "Just… be careful, okay? Don't let yourself get a reputation as someone who plays with women because you don't deserve it."

The sincerity with which Kai spoke left a smile on Rei's face. "I won't, Kai." He nodded, soft smile still in place. "Enjoy your night."

"You too, oh. And Rei?"

"Yeah?"

Kai smirked. "When she tries to kiss you, don't run away. Let _her_ do all of the work, because Christ knows that women like to rant enough about equal rights."

Rei laughed.

_**xxx**_

As it transpired, Rei knew within a few moments that Kunisaki Sakuya was _not_ his perfect girl. Only minutes after sitting down, he was bored of her because, oh yes, she was certainly _intelligent_, but the problem was that she _knew_ it.

So lovely Miss Kunisaki spent most of the time rambling on about things that she probably knew that Rei wouldn't understand. Rei for his part _did_ understand most of it as, though she had obviously not presumed it, he was actually rather intelligent himself, but he quickly lost interest because he couldn't stand her condescending tone.

The feeling of boredom was obviously mutual, as they both rushed through the meal and forewent dessert. She didn't even bother to say that she'd call him, though she did offer a pleasant smile and said that she'd see him around and that she'd had a lovely night. Rei didn't really care, even when she denied his offer of accompanying her home and caught a taxi back. He didn't take that too personally. He'd known from the moment she'd opened her mouth that she saw herself as a self-sufficient woman.

As soon as he'd waved her off, he pulled out his mobile phone and keyed in his home phone number.

"_Yes?"_

"Hey… do you still have some of that pizza left?" Rei asked hopefully.

"…_I'll get the next movie ready,"_ Kai replied.

Rei smiled gratefully. "Thanks."

The restaurant hadn't been _too_ far away and so, Rei had taken the subway there and back. Despite sitting next to three drunken businessmen on the way home, Rei felt strangely content and made it home in only fifteen minutes.

Kai greeted him with his usual head-rolled-back-over-the-backrest position that he usually took when he couldn't be bothered to get up. "That was fast," he stated, watching as Rei kicked off his shoes.

"Yeah, the restaurant was pretty close anyway," Rei replied, flopping onto the couch, making a little sound of comfort as he did.

"Pizza?" Kai offered with an inclination of his head.

"Did you order your crappy— yes you did," Rei laughed, helping himself to a piece from the box placed on the coffee table.

Kai snorted. "It's not like you _have_ to have any."

Rei only chuckled and took a bite.

Kai was so quirky, he really was. He didn't really _like_ pizza. What he liked was the pizza base, so what he tended to do was order a plain, boring old margarita, pull all the cheese off the top, eat that, and then eat the base. Rei didn't _dis_like margarita pizza, but he found it a little bland compared to the likes of Barbeque Chicken, Meat Feast and Hawaiian. Of course, that didn't mean that Rei could be bothered to get up and find some sort of topping in the kitchen.

After that they watched a movie, the silence broken only by Kai's mutters of what was not realistic, and Rei's declarations of such and such martial arts move being impossible to do in real life. It was something that drove the rest of their friends mad, but strangely, Kai and Rei didn't mind it in the slightest.

When it finished, Kai turned to Rei, "I quite enjoyed that."

"Me too," Re agreed with a smile.

Kai cocked his head. "You don't seem too crushed by the date."

"Nah, she was arrogant and condescending," Rei shrugged. "I don't think she wanted to be there either."

"Sorry," Kai replied.

Rei grinned. "_Sincere!_"

Kai gave him a look. "Well, it was hardly destiny was it? You made your decision over breakfast choice."

Rei pouted, though it was entirely unconscious. "Well, sometimes these things are like a butterfly effect. I couldn't have known where it would lead if I hadn't tried pursuing it."

"Whatever," Kai sighed.

"Why don't _you_ try dating some people, Kai? It might make you less grumpy," Rei teased.

"No thank you, I actually _care_ about my reputation," Kai snapped.

Rei's eyes widened. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Kai said nothing, looking back at the screen in stubborn silence. Rei sighed, knowing that it was his fault. He'd pushed it a little bit too far and it was probably a sensitive issue with Kai, since Kai never even _mentioned_ dating in regards to himself. "Sorry, Kai," he muttered softly, leaning back against the backrest.

Kai looked back at him. "It's okay, it's just…" _I worry. You're my friend. I don't want to see you get hurt._ Rei knew that was what he wished to say, he could see it clear as day in red eyes, but Kai being Kai shrugged and blinked it all away. "I don't want you to end up ruining your reputation, because that's exactly what you're going to do at this rate."

Rei took in a deep breath, painfully aware of how true Kai's words were. "I… know," he said slowly.

"I just don't get what the rush is," Kai muttered.

"There_ is_ no rush… not really, it's just I…" Rei sighed. "I don't want to be the forty year old virgin." Kai stared at him incredulously for a moment before he threw his head back and laughed. Rei blushed. "Oh ha ha," he said dryly, though he still smiled.

"Rei, just because you're eighteen and never been kissed doesn't mean you're _never_ going to. I just don't see where this ridiculous fear is coming from," Kai said once he'd calmed down a little.

"I know, but, Kai! People _expect_ it. I don't want it going around that I'm a joke. God people are going to think that I'm afraid of women or something," Rei groaned into his hands.

"Doubtful, the amount you get through," Kai deadpanned.

"Kai, it's not like I _want_ to be like this. I'm a firm believer in monogamy. I _hate_ that I'm bouncing from woman to woman like some kind of fickle manwhore," he explained.

"Rei, that requires sleeping with them, which is yet another step beyond the kissing thing," Kai smirked.

Rei gave him a look that clearly read '_shut up'_. "If I could somehow make it easier, then I would," he said miserably instead.

"Well, what _exactly_ are you looking for?" Kai asked.  
Rei was surprised at the question, since Kai never really showed _that_ much interest in his albeit, short-lived relationships. "Someone I just feel comfortable with. Who I can be myself around," Rei said almost instantly. He should know after all, he'd been searching for it all of this time.

"So… like a friend?" Kai said after a brief moment.

Rei blinked slowly at that. "…Yes. Kind of. I mean, yeah, actually. A friend first, only, that's what I've been trying to do all of this time. Build a friendship first and then try to develop something more from there."

"Rei," Kai sighed, "you should know by now that friendship can't be made over the course of a date. God knows you've learned that first hand from me," at that Kai offered a self-depreciating smile.

Rei felt himself smile back. "Point."

"Well then, why don't you just try looking to the girls that you know for once?" Kai suggested.

"Eh? What do you mean by that?"

Kai frowned slightly. "Well, you're friends with, or at least _know_, several of the girls that we Beyblade with, so why not taking one of _them_ out on a date."

"Like_ who_?" Rei asked as if the thought was bizarre to him.

"Well… how about Mao?" Kai tried.

Rei shifted uncomfortably. "Why do people _always_ think that there's something between us?"

"Because you're childhood friends? You know each other very well?" Kai said.

"The elders would be happy if we got together…" Rei muttered, before shaking his head. "I just_ can't_ though. I mean, I know she'd give me a chance and I know I'm comfortable with her and she wouldn't laugh at me, but… I don't like the thought of kissing her, let alone doing anything _sexual_ with her. I mean… I saw her when she was a toddler, and a little girl. I saw her go through puberty and I've warned off anyone who looks at her funny ever since. She's just… she's just _family_. Thinking of being with her sexually makes me feel creepy."

"Well… what about Mariam?" Kai asked.

"She's so beautiful but I don't know. I don't think that she really likes me at all. Plus she seems kind of experienced."

"Julia?"

"She's also gorgeous, but I think she'd be really demanding. Plus I'd feel kind of bad dragging her away from Raul," Rei mused.

"Matilda?"

Rei pulled a face. "I'd feel like some kind of pervert. She looks about twelve."

Kai seemed to consider that. "True, true."

"Who does that really leave then?" Rei huffed.

"There's plenty of girls involved in and around blading, Rei," Kai said.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Look," Kai suddenly looked a little uncomfortable, which usually meant that he was about to offer advice- something that he didn't enjoy doing very much. "I just think that maybe you should back off a little. Maybe these things don't come to you when you're blatantly searching for it, because then it would feel forced and unnatural. Maybe you should try just… I don't know, _leave it be_. Let it happen."

Rei sighed. "Maybe…" A sudden thought struck him. Kai was so knowledgeable and it hurt to know that he really _had_ been holding stuff back from Rei. "How do you know so much about this anyway, Kai? How do _you_ do so well with girls?" Even though I never see you go out on dates, Rei added angrily in his mind.

Kai looked away and didn't say anything. Rei waited for a moment before he realised that Kai was either pretending that he didn't hear him, or simply wasn't going to answer. Either way the conversation was over and Rei daren't push it since Kai so _obviously_ didn't want to talk about. Rei was _only_ his best friend and roommate after all.

Rei felt his hurt grow until it left him flushed, inexplicably irritated and _insulted_. Tch, even after all of these years Kai was still a secretive dick. He was probably sneaking girls back when Rei was out humiliating himself.

His irritation grew until he was downright angry, even though he knew he was being illogical. He really didn't care, and he didn't care about Kai's look of surprise when he surged to his feet.

"Well, good night then, Kai," he said rather coldly, before stomping off to bed.

Kai watched him go with a rather bewildered expression, but still remained silent.

**_xxx_**

"How did it happen? With Takao I mean?"

Hiromi looked surprised at the suddenness of the question. She had been wondering why Rei had invited her out to coffee out of the blue the previous night.

When she gave him no reply, Rei plunged on. "I mean; did it help being friends first? Was there like, an air of sexual tension? Was the spark there from the start?"

"Rei…"

"Ehh, I'm being so nosey. I'm sorry. I really don't mean to be. It's your business after all. I was just wondering," Rei continued.

"Rei!"

"Yeah?" he smiled.

"Shhh," Hiromi said simply. Rei cocked his head as she closed her eyes and took a sip of her coffee. "Okay," she said once she'd set her mug back down. "Firstly, I was _just_ fourteen years old when I first met Takao so, no. I can't say that I felt a spark, or that there was… sexual tension between us. To be honest, when I first met Takao I thought that he was a lazy, arrogant, bratty, selfish loafer," she said with a grin.

Rei gave her a small smile, suddenly extremely worried. Takao and Hiromi had been together for a little over a year and from the looks of things, they were probably going to _last_. Rei had finally cracked since Kai obviously wasn't going to share anything personal with him, he would just have to ask another of his close friends who, luckily was not only female, but in a successful relationship.

"So… it wasn't there right at the start?" he questioned.

"Oh God no," Hiromi pulled a face. "I couldn't _stand_ him." Well there went Rei's whole philosophy about _clicking_. His heart sank to his feet. "But…" Hiromi spoke up again, a far off look on her face as she played with her stirrer, "being around him nearly every day, I don't know. I cared about him more and more and more. I still thought- still _think_- that he's pig-headed and a moron at times, but… I honestly don't' know. I think that our friendship meant that it was easier to move up a level into being boyfriend and girlfriend. It was still really weird in places but… we already had that trust and comfortable vibe between us."

"But _how_?_ How_ did it happen for you?" Rei implored.

Hiromi studied him for a long moment before shrugging. "I don't know, Rei. It just sort of… did."

"…Oh," Rei's shoulders slumped. "Funnily enough, Kai told me to 'let it happen' last night," he murmured, looking almost longingly out of the window.

"Rei… is this about all those girls that you date?" Hiromi asked gently.

"Hmmm…" Rei said noncommittally.

"Rei…I don't know what I'm to say…" Hiromi sighed, almost as she was afraid that her next words might offend him. "I'll say it anyway. We're kind of a little worried about that, to be honest, Rei. I know you're not _sleeping_ with them, but you seem to be a little… commitment-phobic lately," she pushed.

Rei looked back at her. "That's not it, Hiromi. That's not it at all. If I could find the right girl then I'd happily commit to her, I just…" he fell silent.

Hiromi was getting a little tired of half-answers and tried not to let her impatience show. "What?"

"I don't feel comfortable with any of them. I spend most of the night not wanting to be there because it feels like a chore. I'm just not interested in what they have to say, and their flirty, complicated messages confuse and piss me off. I just can't figure out what they _want_ from me, so I _never_ know where I stand," he said, realising that he was ranting just a little towards the end.

Hiromi laughed softly. "Oh, Rei. That's just the wonderful way that we women work. I'm sure you'll enjoy it some day. It's like a Rubik's cube."

"Kai had one of those once. I threw it out of the window," Rei responded dryly, not too impressed with her metaphor. He really _hated_ Rubik's cubes.

"Rei… I really have to side with Kai on this one," she said a little more seriously, reaching across the table to grip his hand gently. "You're going to have to be patient and wait until it happens."

"How will I even know that though, Hiromi?" Rei replied forlornly.

She smiled. "You just will. It will _feel_ right, regardless of anything else, regardless of what anyone tells you, regardless of how you _think_. You'll _feel_ it."

Rei felt like his heart would break from his impatience, but he smiled back at his friend, comforted for the time being.

Yet still… "You do realise how much like a tabloid newspaper agony aunt you just sounded, right?" he _had_ to keep up his macho appearance after all.

He grinned as Hiromi hit him with her spoon.

**_xxx_**

He was a little tipsy by the time he made it back to his apartment. After their coffee, he and Hiromi had decided to spend the rest of the day together and they had ended up using Rei's celebrity status to illegally purchase some wine, which they'd ended up drinking in the park at one of the picnic tables, since it had been such a beautiful day for the middle of winter. She'd had most of it though, since Rei wasn't overly keen on wine.

Stepping through his apartment doorway, Rei sauntered into his kitchen to fetch himself a cup of water.

"Have a good time with Hiromi?" Kai asked, though his voice was slightly muffled due to the fact that his head was in the fridge.

Rei padded over and peered over Kai's shoulder to see what he was looking at. "Yeah, it was really nice," he smiled.

"You eaten?" Kai asked, glancing back at him.

"No. What were you thinking about making?" Rei asked.

"I don't know. I did a lot of training today so I can't really be bothered to cook anything."

Rei turned away to fetch a glass for himself, remembering why he'd even come into the kitchen in the first place. "Just get something out of the freezer. I'm not really that fussed."

"Chicken breasts with rice it is, then," Kai said, already tugging out a box of microwavable chicken fillets.

Rei helped out by getting the rice cooker ready.

After a rather bland meal and a healthy dessert –Rei had two bananas and Kai had an apple- the settled into their usual positions on the sofa.

"I'm sorry about last night," Rei said suddenly.

It took Kai a moment to figure out what on Earth he was talking about before he shrugged and offered a small smile. "It doesn't matter."

"No, I…" Rei sighed and if Kai was honest, he was a little worried at how sad he looked. He really had _no_ idea how he could help his best friend out of this rut since his words were proving to be totally ineffective. "Hiromi made me properly realise something today. The _click_, that _thing_… it doesn't always happen. I've been so desperately looking for it, that I've not let anything develop. I need friendship first; I need to be comfortable with them. This kissing issue I have, that's only the first _part_ of it. If I can overcome _that_, then I can prove to myself that I can pass the first hurdle and that I can see just how right it feels. _Then_ I can work on the rest of it.

"But it's a damn vicious cycle. You know I don't trust people very easily, not any more, and it's just so _hard_ to find someone I can let my guard down with and trust with my poor, tender little ego to get past even the _first_ stage," he finished with a gently self-mocking smile. Kai stayed silent, and Rei berated himself for being so gloomy, so instead he fixed Kai with a bright smile. "So anyway, I've decided- I give up. You're right; friendship takes years to develop, so I need to just stop looking for that someone. I hope that one day it can '_just happen'_ like Hiromi assures me, but… until then, I'll hang back on the dating and hope that I meet Miss Right sometime before I go grey," Rei joked, though anyone could hear the lack of surety to it.

Kai remained silent, then frowned. "Are you really so sure that there's so much riding upon one simple kiss?"

Rei spread his hands. "I know it sounds mad, but for some reason I'm just _sure_ of it. It's the first step, you know? A barrier that I desperately want to overcome, but I can't. I just feel like it would get me started on the right path."

Kai's eyes flickered briefly; indicating that he was mulling something over, before he seemed to focus, breathe in and nodded once.

"Okay then," he said "Kiss _me_."

* * *

_TBC..._


	3. Never Gonna Let You Down

_Beware! Adult male doing adult male things, discussions on what homosexuality IS, language... the good stuff, really. OH YEAH, AND THE THRILLING CONCLUSION TO KAI'S MAGNIFICENT SUGGESTION. _

_And can someone PLEASE tell me why this site likes to eat up spaces in your work? I'm sick of finding words likethis together._**  
**

_Oh, and I've heard a rumour that there's a storm on the distant horizon, brandishing the name of 'KaRe'..._**  
**

**"Never Gonna Let You Down." **

* * *

"Excuse me?" Rei said, not quite fully believing what he'd just heard. 

Worryingly, Kai too seemed to be in a similar situation, as he'd risen to his feet and looked like wanted to wring his hands together. "That came out a bit wrong."

"How was it _meant_ to come out?" Rei asked, eyes still wide.

"Like… I don't know. I didn't mean it like that," Kai frowned. "No, you know what? I _did_ mean it like that."

"W…what?" Rei whispered.

"Look," Kai rushed, and then sighed. Feeling a little dramatic, he sat down on the opposite end of the sofa. "Look, Rei. You said you wanted it to be with someone you're comfortable and _yourself_ around, right? You're comfortable and yourself with _me_."

"Yeah but, Kai you're… you're a _guy_," Rei said in a slightly strangled voice, bright flush colouring his cheeks.

Kai scowled at him. "It's not like I'm offering to have _sex_ with you, idiot."

Rei blushed brighter still. "Then _why—_"

"Because kisses mean nothing to me. It's just a pair of lips squashed against a pair of lips and the odd bit of tongue. Nothing special, nothing monumental," Kai waved off, but his look of distaste faded and his eyes softened when he looked back to Rei. "But to you it obviously _does_ mean something."

"Kai… I know you're my friend and all, but… you're still a _guy_," Rei said again, as if Kai hadn't noticed.

"Yeah, Rei, I get it. I have a dick," Kai drawled. "Fine, forget I offered, I don't know what I was thinking," he frowned and made to get up.

"Kai, wait!" Rei called out. "I'm sorry. I know you're only trying to help, it's just… you're right about the fact that I feel really safe and comfortable with you." Rei frowned. _Safe?_ What was he, a woman? "Well, you know what I'm saying, it's just… it'd be really weird doing that sort of thing with a _guy_."

"Well... it's just kissing. There's nothing really gay about it. I mean, you _want _to kiss women, I guess it'd just be… practice," Kai summed up.

"You really think it wouldn't be _gay_?" Rei asked, whispering the word 'gay' like it was some kind of terrible secret.

"Why would it be? Two guys fucking is gay, but just lips on lips? Everyone has lips. It'd be exactly the same as kissing a woman," Kai replied.

Rei had to admit, he saw the logic in what Kai said. "Girls don't have stubble," he joked, already feeling a little less freaked out.

"I don't know… some of the girls we've seen…" Kai smirked.

Rei chuckled, remembering one girl he'd seen rather recently with a fuller moustache than he could ever grow. "Urgh."

"Agreed," Kai responded with a lazy smile.

Rei knew that he shouldn't push it, especially just after the tension had eased a little, but he _had_ to ask. "Kai… why did you offer? Are you…?" Rei left the rest of the question unsaid, but knew that Kai understood.

"Would if matter if I was?" Kai asked.

Rei's eyes widened. Kai's sexuality had never even crossed his mind before and Rei _really_ wasn't comfortable with the whole homosexual thing. Still though… Kai was… his best friend. Kai was _Kai_. He was the guy who he lived with and bladed with and sat up drinking beer and watching movies with. Kai was such a support in his life. The thought of Kai _with_ some guy kind of horrified him a little, but… "No," Rei said softly after a few moments of deliberation.

Kai smiled secretively. "No I'm not." At Rei's look of surprise, Kai continued. "Rei, if ever I suddenly turned gay, you'll be the first to know about it, trust me," he grinned. "God this is a weird conversation to be having."

"Well…" Rei smiled. "You _did_ offer to kiss me."

Kai looked a little sheepish. "About that… look. That wasn't me being weird, okay? It's just… I still feel like I need to protect you guys, even though you're all growing up. I guess this team captain role I never wanted is too deeply embedded into me." He uttered a self- mocking little laugh at that. "Rei… you _know_ that you're my closest friend and I've never really had that before. We've known each other for so long," Kai said, "Your heart's been aching but, you're too shy to say it. I just hate to see you coming in night after night looking dejected and frustrated. You and I both know that those dates are a waste of time before you even go on them, but you still waste your time and money and reputation on them every time.

"If you honestly think that something as simple as a _kiss_ will help you overcome some kind of strange fear that's holding you back then… at least it's something I can _try_ to help you with. I don't like feeling useless, so I guess, what I thought was if I could get the kiss thing out of the way for you, you could get on with your life instead of being stuck in this rut." Kai spread his hands. "Sorry, it was the best plan I could come up with in such a short amount of time. Sounds a little crazy though now, huh?"

It did. It sounded like a mad, weird thing to do but… but Kai had been willing to do it. Kai cared about his welfare _so_ much that he was willing to make that sort of a sacrifice. He was willing to kiss _another man_ for the sake of friendship. It made Rei feel like a bit of a baby. An unappreciative baby.

It was such a crazy thing but… maybe it was in fact genius. Maybe just…

"Kai?" Rei asked quietly. Kai turned his attention to Rei, indicating that he was listening. "Would it make things really weird between us?"

Kai seemed to consider it. "Well… I don't see why. I mean, I certainly wouldn't go telling anyone, and it's not like either of us would expect for it to happen again."

"So we could kind of… forget it ever happened. I mean, not _forget_, but forget that it was _us_?" Rei pushed.

Kai seemed to grow a little guarded. "Yes, I don't see why not."

"And it definitely wouldn't be gay?" Rei stressed again.

"It's just some lips, I mean. We're in the living room of our home. That's not very sexy," Kai smirked. "You go on and on about kissing girls, so just close your eyes and think of them. If you're thinking of girls, you couldn't get any _less_ gay."

Rei took in a deep breath. "Okay," he breathed.

Kai's eyes widened in shock, just as Rei's had, neither of them fully believing what they'd just heard. "What?" Kai said slowly, as if for reassurance.

It was the perfect moment to back out- for Rei to pretend that he hadn't just agreed to let his **male** friend kiss him with his **male** lips. God what had he been _thinking_? That just wasn't a cool thing to do. It wasn't cool.

"I said… okay," Rei repeated. He repeated it because, for some reason, his pride wouldn't let him run away from this. His pride wouldn't let him turn his nose up at Kai's selfless sacrifice, because Kai was right. This was just about a pair of lips on a pair of lips. He could simply close his eyes and think of some beautiful girls if it was too horrible and disgusting. This was all about two friends breaking down a barrier and sorting out a problem that was constricting his life. If Kai was willing to make the sacrifice, then so would Rei.

Kai paled very slightly. "You mean, you actually _want_ me to…? Rei it was…" just a joke? Was it? Had it ever been? Kai swallowed. "Are you _sure_?" he said in a low voice.

"Well… like you said, it's not gay right? It's practice that I need," Rei replied, though his twitching hands fisting in the material of his shirt indicated his nervousness.

"I…" Kai said, suddenly looking indecisive, before he clenched his hand into a loose fist, gathering his resolve. "Okay."

The slight nervous sick feeling in the pit of Rei's stomach grew as Kai hesitantly, moved to sit facing him on the sofa, shifting forwards until their knees touched, before he moved his hands out to rest upon Rei's shoulders. He gave a small, reassuring squeeze and swallowed sharply before he very, very slowly started to move closer.

Paralysed by his nerves, Rei found himself only able to focus upon Kai's lips drawing ever closer to him. They were a pleasant colour, he noted somewhere in his wildly dancing thoughts. They were quite thin too, not as full as a woman's lips, but they looked just as soft…

Rei started, but did not pull back when he felt the first puffs of warm breath upon his own lips, and he subconsciously swiped his tongue out to wet his lips. He found his gaze trailing up to take in the rest of Kai's face, and somewhere deep inside him he squashed the sudden, ludicrous urge he had to giggle at Kai's heavy-lidded eyes and blushing cheeks. He felt like he should really be helping in some way, but Kai was the experienced one, not him, so instead he just waited as Kai drew nearer and nearer.

The first contact was a slight brushing sensation that caused his lips to erupt in eager little tingles. He scrunched his eyes shut to the feeling, waiting for the horrible ordeal that would be kissing another man. He didn't fight it, however, when Kai's hands on his shoulders drew his body forward, presumably closer. He was suddenly gripped by the urge to watch what was going on, but he was too embarrassed, so instead he just tilted his head upwards a little.

This time the Kai's lips sealed firmly over his own, angled accommodatingly, making it easy for them to move together- something that Rei found he was naturally doing. And while he was still nervous, Rei felt himself calm down and allowed his mind to go blank, concentrating entirely on what he was feeling, hoping to learn from it and use it some day. It was warm and the touch was soft. There was no stress, and the feeling of someone's warm breath brushing against his cheek was strangely comforting. He relaxed fully into it, only half aware that he had done.

Kai, as if sensing the change, grew a little more adventurous and made the last final push at Rei's intimacy barriers, opening his mouth fractionally and waiting to see if Rei would notice.

He did, nervousness returning to him, sending little cold flurries throughout his body, but he gathered his resolve. Weird or not, he wasn't going to back down. He wasn't going to be the coward out of the two, so he followed Kai's lead and parted his lips a little too.

Though he dreaded and expected it, Kai did not mercilessly shove his tongue in. Instead, almost hesitantly, he touched his tongue to Rei's lips gently and slipped it very slowly in between, coaxing, as if he was fearful that he'd cause Rei to break the kiss in panic. It was kind of working too, because Rei –for all of his nervousness and misgivings- gathered the courage it took to respond, moving his tongue the distance needed to touch Kai's.

As if by an unspoken agreement, they pressed their lips more firmly together, leaning in a little to make it easier. One of Kai's hands moved from his shoulder up to cradle the back of his head, fingers burying themselves in his hair, and Rei found the sensation to be extremely relaxing. He sighed softly, releasing the breath that he hadn't realised he'd been holding in.

Kai let out a little laugh, seeming to know that somewhere along the way Rei had forgotten to breathe. It was nothing more than a small noise and a puff of warm air against Rei's cheek, but Rei couldn't help but smile back. The situation was so utterly strange and weird and bizarre, but it was still pretty easy to find something funny about it, and if anything, it helped to alleviate some of the tension.

Feeling a little more confident, Rei angled his head to slant his lips against Kai's better. He was still not quite sure of what he was doing, but it felt like it was the right thing to do when Kai manoeuvred his mouth open a little more and started sliding his tongue more insistently against Rei's. Rei answered it by trying to copy at first, but as the kiss went on, he allowed himself to become a little more creative, even pushing back against it.

And for the most part, it all came rather naturally and Rei sank into the overwhelming _sensation_ of it all. He inhaled the pleasant scent of Kai's shampoo, burned as the hot feeling in his face travelled throughout his entire body, and tasted… apple. He smiled slightly. Kai tasted like apples.

Kai slowly withdrew, just as Rei was beginning to grow slightly dizzy. He didn't draw back too far though, and Rei's eyes fluttered open before he could stop them. He knew his face was flushed from how his cheeks felt like they were on fire, and he removed his arms from around Kai's neck –when had _that_ happened?- before drawing back a little. Kai cleared his throat and shifted back into a sitting position, one leg neatly dangling over the other and back straight, though he did not move away from Rei. If it hadn't been for his small blush and slightly mussed hair –Rei guessed that was his fault- he would have looked entirely normal.

Rei was still a little dazed by it all. In fact, he was amazed- amazed at what he'd been missing out on. It was so basic, and if you thought about it, kind of disgusting. It was wet and slimy, and it left a little saliva –he wasn't sure _whose-_ around the corner of his mouth that he was tempted to swipe away with the back of his hand once his head stopped spinning. Really, if you thought about it, the whole kissing thing was kind of _nasty_. It was gross and _absolutely incredible_. Rei knew then why people loved to do it so much. He realised that gross concepts sometimes ended up being anything _but_ gross.

He felt relief flood through him. He'd _done_ it. He'd had his first kiss and against his expectations and beliefs, it hadn't been some shameful, embarrassing trauma. It had been enjoyable and encouraging; utterly _enthralling_ and _exciting. _Best of all it had been with someone who he felt totally comfortable with- someone who he had complete trust in. His dear best friend—

Oh God, he'd just kissed Kai. Rei had totally forgotten that little fact. _Had he?_ It had been the last thing on his mind! _Even though Kai tasted like apples_. He'd just kissed a _man_._Because he agreed to._ He'd—

Wait. He hadn't even been able to tell that he _was_ kissing a man. Kai had been _right._ A pair of lips were a pair of lips, and from those lips Rei had learned and he had experienced and most importantly of all, he had _done_ it. He had broken down that barrier that had been holding him back. There had been no humiliation; just a valuable learning experience that Rei could use for the rest of his life. It had been the best first kiss that he could possibly hope for and it meant that in future, he could finally pursue a relationship with one of his dates.

And so, after several moments of silence, and after everything from fear, to relief had flickered in his eyes, Rei's mouth curled into a gracious smile.

"Thank you," he said.

Kai looked hesitant for a moment before he too offered a small smile. "You're welcome." He stood up, facing away from Rei, probably to hide his smirk. "But if you ever tell anyone about this, I'll kick your ass."

Rei snorted in amusement as Kai sauntered from the room.

* * *

Though neither of them spoke about it again, Rei replayed the kiss over in his mind again and again, meticulously studying what he could remember of those hazy few minutes. He fixed his shirt as he hummed happily to himself, surveying his appearance. Rei _had_ to look good tonight, because tonight he was going to get _lucky_. 

Deciding that he could do no more, Rei bounded into the living room, grinning like a Cheshire cat. Kai looked at him as if he was a little crazy and returned his attention to his book.

"What time are you picking her up?" he asked.

Rei jogged over and sat himself down on the arm of the sofa, facing Kai as he nudged Kai's legs out of the way with his feet. "Seven thirty."

Kai glanced at the clock. "You've got ten minutes then," he stated.

"Yeah," Rei smiled, and his excitement caused Kai to roll his eyes.

Things had been slightly weird between them for a day or so after the kiss; an underlying strain beneath their words and actions to one another, but the night had seen them sitting side by side engrossed in watching a European Cup qualifier, all tension seemingly forgotten.

Full of renewed confidence after his learning experience, Rei had called up a girl he had been on a date with a couple of weeks ago. She'd been both beautiful _and_ extremely pleasant company, and it had only taken Rei a small apology for being too busy to call her to convince her to go on another date with him. He could barely contain his excitement. It was his chance to show the world the new him. Newspapers would herald him as an amazing date and kisser, and maybe he'd end up in a relationship with her. Who knew? The future was full of possibilities.

"So… you going to kiss her?" Kai asked, breaking off Rei's thoughts.

Rei beamed. "Yes. Yes I am."

Kai snorted. "Well it's about time."

"Fuck off," Rei replied, though his grin contradicted his words.

"I'd laugh now if she didn't feel you were at a stage where you should be kissing one another," Kai smirked, though his eyes remained fixed on his book.

"Ahhh! I've got that covered. I'm taking her to an _amazing_ restaurant and I'm going to be completely charming _and_ I'm going to act really coy because I know girls dig cute guys," Rei practically sang out.

Kai just shook his head. "Yeah well, you'd better not turn up late, Romeo, or you can kiss that kiss goodbye."

Rei went to say '_you're just jealous_' but for some reason thought better of it. Instead he eyed the clock and jumped off the arm. "You're right." Striding over to grab his jacket, he flung it on and opened the door. "Wish me luck!" he called out.

He caught Kai's "You're going to need it!" just in time for him to stick his hand through the doorway to flip him off. Not that it mattered, because Kai was too engrossed in his book to notice.

* * *

Three and a half hours later Kai was still sprawled across the sofa. The only indication of any movement was that the number of pages he had left to read had thinned to less than half a centimetre, Rei noted as he slunk back into his apartment. 

Unfortunately, Kai wasn't too focused on his book that he didn't notice Rei's return. "So?" he said.

Rei smiled and gave him thumbs up. "You bet." He busied himself with removing his shoes and his coat. "We went for a walk through the park. It was so romantic. And when we got back to her apartment, she was so shy, but I was just seized with this confidence and I grabbed her and kissed her. She seemed kind of impressed, but I think the excitement took it out of me a little, so I'm going to head to bed."

Kai glanced at the clock as Rei swept past, noting that it was almost twelve. "I didn't realise it was so late," he murmured.

"Night!" Rei called as he twisted the handle to his door and stepped into his room. Once the door was closed behind him, his smile dropped and he heaved a tired sigh. He padded over to the other side of his room to pick up Driger, running his thumb over the bit chip before placing it lovingly back down and reaching out to line his candles up more precisely. His toes dug into the plush material of his maroon rug unconsciously as he shifted the photo frame that contained his most treasured photograph- the one of Team BBA with the World Championship trophy the first year they'd won it.

He smiled as he remembered it, though it turned bitter as soon as he recalled his battle against Boris. God, he'd been so brave then he almost couldn't believe it himself. His body had hurt _everywhere_ and he had barely been able to stay conscious and yet he'd done it.

So_ why_ couldn't he find the balls to just fucking _kiss_ someone?

Oh, he hadn't lied for the most part. The meal had been exquisite, as had the company. In fact, he felt incredibly sorry for her since she'd actually deemed him worth the effort to get properly dressed up for. Half the men in the room had been eyeing her up and leaning towards her like a flower to sunlight when she'd emitted that soft, girlish little laugh.

Rei had been so much more relaxed too, and he'd found that his natural charm had come easily once the pressure of potential disaster had ceased to loom over him. There had been no rush. They'd eaten at a leisurely pace; talking about anything and everything, and once finished they had been in no hurry to leave the restaurant. The only reason Rei had suggested that they leave the table was because he could barely contain his excitement at the prospect of feeling those amazing sensations once again.

She'd been quick and happy to agree to his suggestion of him accompanying her home. They'd even stopped in the park on the way to look at whatever stars they could; given the city lights. It had been so cliché, but it had been nice- just like a movie really. He'd felt like he was going to burst with excitement for the rest of the walk.

She'd looked just like a star when they'd reached her building, all soft expression and shy, heavy-lidded eyes. And at that point it hit Rei that he was about to kiss her and that she wanted it.

And he had no idea what had gone wrong. She'd slid her eyes closed and angled her head up, and then all of a sudden, this strange, cold feeling had shot through Rei. It was like some kind of dull panic and alarm; the moment that he'd been anticipating twisting into a moment of dread. It welled up in him and overpowered him, and before he knew it he had taken a reflexive step backward and a strange mix of shock and dismay had seized his heart and expression.

The look in her eyes when she caught his expression had caused Rei's heart to thud in painful guilt.

"I… I thought… you seemed to like me. I don't understand…" her words had been utterly bewildered.

"I…" Rei couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Don't. Good night, Mr Kon."

At the sight of her unshed tears, Rei had felt more ashamed of himself than he ever had in his entire life.

She had been exactly the kind of woman that any man would want. And Rei had _freaked out_. He could kiss Kai, his damn friend no problem, but a perfect woman? God damn it.

It had been the outcome that Rei had dreaded the most; it hadn't just been about the kiss. There was something else, and that something else –that deeper problem he couldn't even begin to identify- meant that he was going to end up alone. He would see Takao and Max and Kai get married and have children and happily families, and Rei would be alone. He'd be a laughing stock.

His dejected thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a knock on his door.

"Come in," he said, though he didn't turn around. He knew who it was anyway and he wanted his melancholy to remain undetected. Kai moved around quietly a little before speaking.

"Don't worry too much about it, Rei. There's always a next time," he said sympathetically.

Rei closed his eyes and fought back a wan smile. Goddamn Kai for knowing him so well. "Yeah," he replied.

"… You always mess with things when you're worried," Kai muttered. Rei looked to his fingers and was unsurprised to find them toying with his small Buddha statue. He stared at it for a moment, studying its sublime, peaceful face and flowing robes before finally blinking to clear away the semi-daze he'd fallen into.

When he turned around to face Kai, he found that Kai had left the room. The only trace of him even being there was the pot of steaming jasmine tea and a cup that he'd left on Rei's bedside table.

Rei couldn't help but smile at the thoughtfulness of it. Maybe when Rei was old and lonely, Kai would let him live with him and his wife in their mansion. It was a strange thought, but Rei found it oddly amusing. Kai knew him better than anyone else anyway. He even knew which kind of tea was Rei's favourite for when he was feeling down. Rei was sure that that level of understanding would mean that Kai would let him look after his children or something. He could be a kind of live-in nanny, even though that was a woman's job.

Lost in his thoughts, Rei drained the tea and promised himself he'd clean the porcelain away the next morning when hopefully the world would seem a little less shit. Even though it was disgusting of him, he chose to forego brushing his teeth too, since he wasn't really in the mood to leave the safe sanctuary of his room. Instead he just threw on his bedclothes, turned off the light and slumped down into bed feeling utterly defeated.

He tried to cheer himself up by jerking himself off, forcing images of his date into his mind out of guilt for not kissing her and probably making her feel self-conscious, but he didn't feel any sort of satisfaction from it. In fact, it felt like it was more effort than it was worth and so, Rei simply gave up after a few minutes and settled for staring blankly at the wall until a troubled sleep overtook him.

* * *

_TBC..._


	4. Giving Off Sparks

Well, despite the complete lack of feedback being slightly discouraging, as I've always said, I'm not in it for the reviews, so

_Well, despite the complete lack of feedback being slightly discouraging, as I've always said, I'm not in it for the reviews, so I'll carry on regardless because I have a story to tell. My reason for not uploading for a while is simply that I've been extremely busy. When I say busy, I mean spending getting on for a week with my best friend eating through Devil May Cry games, and going down the pub with my friends who are back from university for the holidays._

_That means I've not written anything on this for a month, but I'm still about four chapters ahead, so I guess that's okay._

* * *

**"Giving off Sparks."**

* * *

It was hard to breathe. So much so that they had to stop just to catch their breath. It was so hot and sweat slid over their flesh, quivering as muscles twitched in strain. Rei's arms gave a threatening wobble, but he managed to keep himself held up on his hands and knees. He grinned at Kai when he caught the soft groan escaping him, causing Kai to glare at him, though it didn't look as effective as usual with his hair plastered to his face.

"We must look really strange," Rei managed to laugh between heaving pants.

"Hmm," Kai agreed.

"We must look disgusting," Rei pulled a face.

"Hmm," Kai said again, still struggling for breath.

"This is all _your_ fault."

Kai glared at him again. "How is it _my_ fault?"

"We were supposed to just jog and you started running," Rei argued back, slowly easing himself into a sitting position, pulling off his drenched headband and wrinkling his nose at it.

"I _wasn't_ running. I've just got longer legs than you," Kai muttered.

"You _always_ do it, Kai," Rei said.

"… Well you don't _have_ to start running," Kai suggested.

"And let you _win_?" Rei snorted. "Yeah, nice try."

"You guys and your macho pride," Hiromi rolled her eyes as she came strolling up to them.

Takao laughed. "You should have seen the looks you two were getting from everyone. I swear I heard someone say that they thought you might be running from the police."

"Shut up, Kinomiya," Kai shot back, resorting to the use of Takao's family name as he usually did when he was annoyed with Takao. "I know you're threatened by the fact that Rei and I are much fitter than you, but please refrain from sticking your nose in where it's not wanted."

Takao scowled at him and went to reflexively snap back, but he seemed to change his mind at the last second. Instead he smirked and reached out to wrap an arm about Hiromi's waist. "Kai, your jealousy is so ugly. I don't _need_ to run around parks like I've gone crazy because I'm already the best blader and I've got a gorgeous girl."

"Who said you don't need to run, Takao?" Hiromi interjected, wiping the smug look off Takao's face instantaneously.

"Well… I mean I do plenty of training in my grandfather's dojo—"

"Run," Hiromi said, expression deadly serious. Takao didn't need telling twice.

"I resent you so much for scaring him more than I ever did," Kai muttered as he watched his team mate sprint away.

Hiromi smiled brightly. "Well, he's a bit like a dog, really. Feed him and give him some attention and he'll give you dedication, loyalty and cuddles."

"What do you do if he pees on the floor?" Rei joked.

Hiromi shrugged. "Smack him and put him outside, of course."

"You're such a credit to your gender," Kai remarked dryly as Rei and Hiromi shared a laugh.

"Hey, Rei," Hiromi whispered once their chuckles had subsided. Rei cocked his head in question. "That girl is eyeing you up."

"Ehh? Where?" He replied, eyes darting around, scanning the park.

"_Rei!_" Hiromi hissed conspiratorially. "Stop being so _obvious_ about it!"

"Well, where _is_ she?" Rei whispered back.

Hiromi casually glanced up. "Your four-o'clock."

Rei and Kai slid their gazes over towards the direction that she mentioned, catching sight of a rather pretty young lady shyly looking away to disguise the fact that she'd been staring in their direction.

"I doubt it," Rei snorted. "I look terrible."

"Oh come, _on_!" Hiromi scoffed. "I _know_ when a girl likes a guy, and _she_ likes _you_."

Rei shrugged. "I'm covered in sweat."

"You work out. That's a desirable trait," Hiromi pointed out.

"I'm hungry," Kai spoke up, breaking into the conversation. Rei hid his thankful smile as he fiddled with his shoelaces.

A little over three weeks had passed since Rei's disastrous date and he had yet to even try flirting with another girl, let alone ask her out. He'd just lost the will entirely; his confidence had been sorely shaken by his failure, and his resignation that he would spend his life alone was still fresh in his mind. Kai had encouraged him twice, but after that he'd caught on that Rei didn't want it- at least not for a while yet- and had left it alone.

For the most part, Rei didn't miss it. His wallet was a little heavier now at least, and he spent the time that he would have spent on those dates hanging out with Kai and the rest of the team, watching movies that he enjoyed, or just simply beyblading. Now that he thought on it though, that made him seem like a bit of a _loser_.

Rei was thankful that Kai was keeping Hiromi off his back. She was an amazing friend- possibly even his closest female friend, since he saw her so much more often than Mao, and had been through a lot more with her as far as his growing-up years were concerned- but if she discovered Rei's sudden loss of interest and confidence, then she'd inevitably try to fix it. Which would probably involve her trying to find a great girl for Rei to meet, and fall for, and rediscover his hope for love in. The only problem with that was, when it failed like all the others, Hiromi would be made to look a fool, and Rei really didn't want to do that to her.

So instead he stood up and pointedly turned his back to the pretty girl.

"Let's go and get Takao," he announced. "We'll go back to ours, get cleaned up and then grab something to eat."

Kai nodded and hefted himself up too. "Sounds like a plan."

"Oh, do you guys mind if I use your shower too?" Hiromi asked as they began to stroll down the path that Takao had vanished down.

Kai shrugged. "Knock yourself out."

"Where do you think Takao ran to? He wasn't really given any sort of direction," Rei chuckled.

Hiromi shrugged. "Probably to the beyblade dishes. You know what he gets like when fans are around."

"We're here every day," Kai murmured. "I don't see why it would still be exciting."

"You're joking, right?" Hiromi laughed. "You guys have been the biggest thing in the biggest teen-centric sport for the past five years. I don't see why you _still_ don't understand that you're superstars. I'm sure there's kids from all over the world who make the pilgrimage here to see you."

"I doubt _that_, Hiromi," Rei replied with an awkward smile upon his lips.

"And it's _sheer coincidence_ that people from places like England, Germany, India, Canada, Korea and Mexico just so happen to gather here, in this park, out of _the whole_ of Japan?" Hiromi smirked.

Rei coloured. "Well… it's been a while since we saw any foreigners… ehh. Hiromi, you know I'm not comfortable with the fame thing."

"Don't look at me," Kai said, just as Hiromi did just that. "I just don't _care_ about the 'fame thing' as Rei so eloquently puts it."

"I honestly don't get how you have a bigger fanbase than Takao does, Kai, I really don't," Hiromi replied, though her crooked smile showed that she wasn't being rude- just openly curious.

Kai snorted and grinned for a moment. "I bet that just _kills_ him." Rei rolled his eyes, but said nothing since they were almost at the dishes.

True enough, there amidst a small crowd of what looked to be five to twenty year olds, stood Takao, making some grand gesture or other. He noticed them surprisingly quickly and shouted a greeting to them, causing all of the variously aged young people to turn and gasp when they saw the rest of Team BBA –minus Max- standing there, waiting. Rei blushed and gave them a small wave. Kai did nothing.

"We're going to grab something to eat, Taka," Hiromi called over to him.

The word 'eat' probably had something to do with the quick way that Takao said his last few words, waved to them and bounded away, up the small collection of steps, and to his friends' sides.

"Where are we going?" Takao grinned.

"Ours," Rei replied, already turning and starting to walk away. "We're going to have a quick shower and grab something to eat at ours, and then we'll think on what to do next."

"Ah, cool. That jumper I really love is at yours, come to think on it." Initially Takao had insisted on calling the apartment 'our apartment' because, after all, it _was_. Rei and Kai hadn't cared that he _had_ called it 'our apartment', because there was a room right there for him and if ever he chose to move out of his dojo he had every right to live there. Max had that right too, and though it wasn't ever totally confirmed, so did Hiromi and Daichi (though he hadn't been seen for almost nine months due to his personal quest that none of them really understood, but pretended to), but they had called it 'Kai and Rei's' pretty much from the moment they'd been given it, just over a year ago. Over time though, because Kai and Rei really _were_ the only permanent residents, even Takao had unconsciously begun to call it 'their apartment'.

Still, that didn't stop him from having his own drawer of clothes in his potential room, and a separate food cupboard.

* * *

The walk back hadn't taken long, but as usual, Rei found himself regretting not bringing a jacket with him as he absentmindedly rubbed at his chilled, uncovered arms. Everyone else seemed to silently agree from the way that they barrelled into the apartment as soon as Kai had unlocked the door.

Rei headed straight towards his room, before he remembered their company and stopped in his tracks. "Hiromi, do you want to use the bathroom next to my room?" he offered.

"Awwww, thanks, Rei," she replied from where she had settled herself in one of the armchairs. "But it's fine. You need one more than I do. I just walked really fast!" she laughed.

"Okay, help yourselves to some food and drink. You know where everything is." With that, he walked into his room, grabbed some fresh clothes and walked back out again, entering the room next to his this time.

They had two bathrooms, which made life a lot easier. It was actually the only reason why Kai and Rei's rooms were at opposite ends of the apartment. The way they'd figured it out when they first moved in was that that way they both pretty much had en- suites. It certainly made life a lot easier for both of them.

Rei made quick work of his shower, especially since he'd clipped his already bound hair back into a sort of bun –fondly referred to as 'pretzel hair' by Takao- to avoid getting it too wet. He'd accomplished the labourious task of cleaning his tresses the night before and wasn't willing to spend another hour getting the hairdryer on it.

When he was finished, dried and redressed, he exited the bathroom and made his way back into the living room area where he found Takao and Hiromi sprawled in two of the plush armchairs. For some reason that no one understood or ever spoke of, the sofa was 'Kai and Rei's' and no one else sat upon it but them, unless they had a lot of company over.

"Either of you want to use my bathroom?" Rei asked, leaning over the back of the settee.

"I will!" Takao shouted, jumping up out of his seat and dashing over towards the bathroom, fresh clothes already gathered under his arms.

Rei sent a confused look to Hiromi, who just smiled. "Kai offered to let me use his bathroom. He said he didn't want Takao's hair getting stuck in the plughole again."

Rei laughed at that. "Ohhh! Remember the last time?"

"What? When Kai thought that Takao's hair was one of his and freaked out that he was getting split ends?" she grinned.

Though it seemed like a stupid mistake to make, Takao's hair was very similar in colour to the darker tone of Kai's hair. A few months ago, Takao had used 'Kai's' bathroom and as a result, Kai had later found several dark blue hairs at the bottom of the shower and, presuming that they were _his_, had gone on to freak out about the state of his hair as a) the hairs had been slightly frayed and, b) a lot longer than he had believed his own hair to be. As a result, despite Rei trying to convince him otherwise, Kai had gone out and got his hair cut quite short which had really looked quite silly.

It was only just now about the same length as it _had_ been.

Still laughing at the memory, Rei slid down onto the couch, drawing his feet up under him. He chatted with Hiromi for a while about little things until Kai joined them a few minutes later and Hiromi took it as her cue to go and grab a shower of her own. As they waited, Kai and Rei flicked through the channels, discussing dinner plans until finally both Takao and Hiromi had finished up and reclaimed their places in their respective armchairs.

"So where shall we eat?" Takao announced. Kai rolled his eyes, but didn't make one of his usual snide comments because he was kind of hungry too.

"How about that Italian place?" Hiromi suggested.

"I don't fancy Italian," Kai muttered.

"Chinese?" Takao threw in.

"No!" Rei shot back.

"Korean?" Kai said.

"Hey! I've got an idea," Rei spoke up suddenly. "How about we invite Max around when he gets off work, grab a couple of bottles of wine and make a traditional Japanese feast?"

"I could help with that!" Hiromi beamed.

Takao was already reaching for his phone. "I'll ring Max!" A single glance at the clock said that Max would still be working his Saturday shift at his father's shop, but since Takao never really paid any attention to that, after the thirtieth time he'd interrupted Max during his work, Max's father had come to accept and expect it.

Kai slid off the sofa. "Well, I suppose it's up to me to get the alcohol as usual." His answer was a trio of thumbs up.

* * *

Since they'd been hungry after their exercise that early afternoon, the motley crew had snacked on various bits and pieces until they'd made their way to their local supermarket to pick up the things that they needed.

Rei and Hiromi settled themselves in the kitchen upon their return to the apartment while Takao and Kai helped out whenever they could. Max phoned them back a little under an hour before his shift ended, apologising for the fact that he couldn't join them because he had a date, but he'd see them tomorrow or Monday. Takao had been a little downtrodden by that; at least until Rei asked him to move the furniture around into something a little more fitting for a 'BBA night in'.

By six o'clock the coffee table was covered in plates full of various Japanese cuisines, the lights were dimmed, quiet music filtered through the air, and Rei, Kai, Takao and Hiromi were comfortably flopped on the floor, propped up by furniture and pillows. Kai had already started on the sake, as had Takao, while Hiromi and Rei drank peach juice. The rice crackers were the first to vanish, and then the odongo –courtesy of Takao- and then everything else slowly but surely vanished until, by nine thirty there were only a few crumbs and sticks left.

The last CD that they'd put in began its second loop, but none of them noticed or cared. They were so wonderfully comfortable.

"Can you imagine," Takao said, voice slurry from the amount of sake he'd drunk. "Can you imagine if, four years ago we'd been told that we'd end up like this?"

"I think I would have killed myself there and then," Kai snorted, draining the last of his cup and helping himself to more sake, rather tipsy himself.

Rei laughed. "Oh come on, Kai. Surely living with me isn't _that_ bad." Unlike the other two, he had only had two cups of sake, so was much more sober.

"Hmm, the life of mundane suburbia," Kai mused. "Still," he continued before the sudden hurt that Rei felt became noticeable to the others, "I'd rather this life over the one I was supposed to have any day." He took another sip of sake.

"The life you should have had?" Hiromi asked, absentmindedly running her hand through Takao's hair. Takao slumped more against her shoulder at the comforting motion.

"You know," Kai waved his hand –thankfully not the one holding his sake cup- "living in suits, surrounded by rich hags with their fake laughs and dead animals hanging around their necks, pretentious idiots, living by the stock market—"

"Ah," Takao broke in. "The lives of the rich, eh? All fancy cigars and fast cars," he said sagely, almost as if he knew what he was talking about.

"Well," Kai pondered aloud. "I don't mind the fast car bit."

"Is that why you live here and not with your parents, Kai?" Hiromi questioned.

"Hm. Mom and dad want to send me to some prestigious university to study business. I suppose I'll have to one day, but I can't be bothered to yet."

"Where would you go?" she pushed.

"Dunno," Kai answered helpfully. "Probably Tokyo U. I've been pretty much guaranteed I'd get in," he said offhandedly, as if he hadn't just mentioned one of the best universities in the world.

"Yeah, but what about _blading_?" Takao gasped, head rising from its rest on Hiromi's shoulder in indignation.

Kai sighed. "Takao, I've told you this already. This year is the last year I'll do the circuit as a blader. Daitenji's already changed the maximum competing age to twenty rather than eighteen."

"But… but…" Takao looked ready to cry –which wasn't surprising since he'd had a _lot_ of sake.

"It's a _teenage_ sport, Takao," Kai explained. "And I've said it before; _I'm still going to be travelling with you_," he stressed. "Just as your coach rather than a blader. I'll still do exhibition matches of course. I'll just be disallowed to join you in the dish in tournaments."

"I don't know, Kai," Rei spoke up. "There's a huge petition to keep you in blading online. You're the most popular blader in the world," he ignored Takao's angry shout of 'hey!' and carried on. "The public won't let you go that easily."

"We'll see," Kai replied, though he didn't sound too devastated. He kind of found the idea of being a coach cool anyway.

"Don't know what I'll do when _I_ turn twenty," Rei said. "Apart from blading and martial arts, there's not much I can really _do_."

"I'm going to blade for the rest of my life!" Takao said rather loudly.

"Get a proper job," Kai scowled.

"Not all of us are stinking _rich_ like _you_," Takao snapped back.

"Kinomiya, _when_ will you remember that you're the big-headed, stupid _face_ of Beyblading?" Kai drawled. "You've got a _ton_ of money in the bank from endorsements and sponsorships and royalties, and yet you _always_ forget about it."

"Maybe I'll open a beyblading academy then!" Takao announced.

"You said that the last time you were drunk," Kai pointed out. "And then you forgot about it."

"Well I won't this time!"

Hiromi sighed. "I'll remind you, okay?" she said, calming him back down. "And, Rei, what do you mean you can't _do_ anything? You can do _plenty_!"  
"Like _what_?" Rei smiled, though he was only humouring her.

"You can come and work for me," Kai stated.

Rei turned to him, smile deepening when he saw that Kai was more interested with staring into his cup than the rest of them. "I can come and work for you, can I? What as?"

"Vice president."

Rei's eyebrows shot up. "Vice president of Hiwatari Enterprises?"

"Yep," Kai answered.

"Even though I have _no_ business experience?"

"Yep."

"And I'd probably screw up your company?"

"Yep."

"Well what exactly would I _do_ as vice president?" Rei asked, honestly curious as well as amused.

"You'll stand next to me, and look important," Kai replied, now actually looking at Rei, amusement glinting from behind drink- dulled eyes.

"Oh? That's all?"

"No," Kai said as if he was talking to a small child. "You'll also have an office with '_Kon Rei. Vice President_' on the door."

Everyone but Takao laughed.

"Well, boys," Hiromi said once they'd quietened down. "I think it's time I get Takao home since he might just be a _little_ bit drunk."

"'M not!" Takao argued back. As if to prove his point, he swung in to place a firm kiss on Hiromi's lips.

Rei felt a distant _pang_ somewhere inside his chest, even as Hiromi shoved Takao off her. "Okay, now I _know_ it's time I got this idiot home."

"You could always stay here for the night," Rei offered.

Hiromi was already on her feet pulling a clumsy Takao up with her. "Thanks, Rei, but I promised his grandfather that he'd be up at six with him to help clean the family shrine." Her smirk sent shivers down Rei's spine and he was suddenly thankful that he _didn't_ have a girlfriend. Still, he helped them to the door and watched them worriedly as Hiromi lead a stumbling Takao away.

With a sigh, he turned around and closed the door behind him. "I hope they'll be okay," he muttered as he sat back down on the floor next to Kai, propped up by the front of the settee.

Kai drained another cup. "They'll be fine. Hiromi's not someone you'd want to run into on a dark night," he snorted.

Rei smiled. "How many of those have you had?" he asked, nodding towards Kai's empty cup.  
"I don't quite know," Kai replied after a moment's consideration, "but I know it's not enough to make me sick."

"That's good then," Rei laughed.

"I'd drink to that, but I seem to have finished the bottle," Kai replied, staring at the bottle for a moment before he chucked it onto the floor next to him. With a sigh, he slid down more until most of his body was under the coffee table and his head was resting against the seat cushion. "So when are you going to get over this whole fear of dating thing?" he asked once he was settled.

"It's not a fear," Rei said slowly, as if he was unsure of the words himself. "I guess I'm just destined not to be with anyone. Oh sure, every now and then I get a little bit restless and I dream of something wild but… it's just not going to happen. I'll save myself the heartache and wasted effort, thanks."

"Oh _come on_!" Kai said dryly. "Have you heard yourself? Who knows where you'll be in a _year_ let alone ten years. You'll probably find the perfect girl, settle down, get married and have a wonderful life… as Kon Rei, vice president of Hiwatari Enterprises," Kai smirked.

"Are you _still_ on about that?" Rei remarked, hitting him lightly on the arm.

Kai grinned at him in return and they fell into a comfortable silence for a while until Kai spoke up again. "Rei… it's not… all of this… it isn't because _I_ kissed you, right?" Kai said a little nervously.

"What?" Rei questioned, surprised. "Oh no, Kai that was… Kai that was very kind of you and I liked it… I _miss_ it," Rei added honestly after a moment. "Seeing Takao kiss Hiromi made me a little jealous, I admit."

"Are you _sure_?" Kai pressed.

"Yeah," Rei smiled. "Besides, there was nothing _gay_ about it, so it's fine."

Kai snorted. "It's just someone's _mouth_ at the end of the day. I mean, if you'd put your cock in my mouth, _then_ it would have been pretty gay, but not tongue." Kai fell silent for a moment. "Yeah, blowing a guy is _gay_."

Rei threw his head back and laughed; he always loved listening to Kai's drunken logic. It was always so hilarious and weirdly… yeah- logical. "You _think_?" Rei snickered.

"Definitely, though," Kai paused to think. "_Getting_ blown by a guy isn't gay. Because then it's just a mouth on your cock, right? It'd only be gay if he put his fingers up your ass, though I know some girls do that sort of thing too."

Despite the images making him uncomfortable, Rei still found the overall point rather funny, so he carried on laughing. "Well, by that reasoning, fucking a guy wouldn't be gay, because you can have anal sex with a girl."

Kai seemed to seriously consider that for a moment. "I think, if you just shove it in, do it and that's it, it's not really that gay, but if you actually… I don't know… if you _loved_ the guy and touched him and everything, _then_ I think it'd be gay, yeah."

Rei pulled a face. "You almost made gay sound quite nice there, Kai. Impressive."

Kai shrugged. "It really doesn't bother me. To each his own, right?"

Rei shifted a little uncomfortably. "Sorry," he muttered.

"For what?" Kai looked confused.

"I know I sound really small-minded at times but… I can't really help it. Part of me still believes that homosexuality doesn't even _exist_, another part of me thinks that it's just plain _wrong_ and another part of me is telling me to just accept it because there are gay people out there and they don't seem _that_ unhappy. I'm trying to listen to the latter part the most, but… it's hard." Rei trailed off.

"Doesn't bother me," Kai shook his head. "It's not your fault you were raised by country hicks."

"Hey!" Rei scowled at him, though it soon melted into a smile. "They aren't _that_ bad."

Kai let out a little dry laugh. "Sure." After a few moments of silence, Kai spoke up again. "Did you know that it's common for teenage guys to get together to wank each other?"

"Awww, Kai!" Rei pulled a face. "Why? Just _why?_"

"I don't know, but I'm guessing that _that_ mustn't be very gay either."

"Wonderful," Rei was still wincing, but a sudden thought struck him. "Hey, Kai… have _you_ ever done that?" he whispered.

"Rei, I've spent most of my teenage years with _you_," Kai replied with a deadpan expression, almost as if _he_ was the sober one and Rei was drunk.

"Oh right," Rei grinned sheepishly. Kai didn't reply and simply stared ahead for a while.

And then Kai was suddenly on his feet, swaying a little. "I'm really—" his jaw cracked open in an enormous yawn. "—tired." He stopped to stretch slowly, not _too_ drunk to not realise that too much motion would cause him to stumble. "Yeah, I'm going to go to bed. I'm a bit pissed," he said with a grin, as if Rei hadn't been able to tell hours ago. He paused as he staggered a little towards his room, and glanced at Rei over his shoulder. "You know, I'm probably going to regret saying this in the morning, but if you miss it that much, I'll do it for you. Kissing, I mean. Because I enjoyed it. But, like I said, I'm probably going to wish I never mentioned it because tomorrow you'll probably start acting really awkward with me because you think I might secretly be a queer or something so, you know, don't worry about it." Kai waved his hand in dismissal and made it the rest of the way into his room.

What he probably hadn't expected was that Rei was watching after him with a thoughtful expression on his face.

* * *

_TBC..._


	5. You are the One and Only You

Oh God, uhh. So yeah, World of Warcraft is sucking my life out of me slowly when I'm not doing my full time job.

I've written about three-hundred words in about three weeks, so yeah: GO ME. I'm doing exactly what I hate other writers doing. **coughcough**.

BTW-- Here there be racism. Because this fic is about real life and not Happy Rainbow valley of Gay.

_**"You are the one and only you."**_

* * *

That night something was different.

Rei hadn't really understood what it was as he had fisted his straining erection as he did most nights of the week. He hadn't been able to identify it, even though amidst the dizzy, stifling heat it was hard to think straight, he had tried to grasp at… _something_.

As he lay quivering in the aftermath, staring sightlessly at the ceiling, too stunned to even reach out for his trusty tissues the clean the mess up, he knew then that he had just had the best orgasm of his _life_. It had been so intense that his head was _still_ spinning.

He frowned slowly as his wits returned to him little by little. The question was, _how the Hell had he done _that?

* * *

The next morning, Rei had pushed it to the back of his mind, shrugging it off as something his memory had exaggerated because he'd been tired last night.

He climbed out of bed, showered, brushed his teeth and dressed, noting from the clock that it was a little after nine.

He wandered over into the kitchen, and started to make himself a bowl of rice for breakfast, flicking the kettle on as he waited for the rice cooker. Once he had a coffee in one hand, and a bowl in the other, he made his way into the living room, settled down and watched one of the Chinese channels for a bit, munching absentmindedly on his rice.

By the time quarter past ten came around, there was _still_ no sign of Kai, so Rei –epitome of kindness, and a _little_ bored- went back into the kitchen and made another cup of coffee, before making his way to Kai's room. He had to knock on the door twice before he got a garbled reply –possibly 'come in'- that caused him to push the door open.

He stifled a laugh when he walked in. Somewhere within the mound of blankets on Kai's bed was his best friend, who was making some sort of muttering noise. Rei's smirk deepened as he neared the bed, settling down on the bare mattress as Kai half-heartedly batted the covers away, eyes still squinted closed.

"Morning," Rei said, barely holding in his chuckles.

"Unrgh," Kai groaned back, slowly blinking his tied eyes open. He peered up at Rei from his hole in his blanket fort. "Hey."

"How are you feeling?" Rei asked sympathetically.

Kai pulled a face. "A bit queasy," he admitted.

"Did you throw up in the end?" Rei smiled.

"No," Kai paused to yawn. "I was pretty close though. I think a couple more cups would have done it." Kai groaned, though it was more a sound of frustration, rather than pain. "Do I _have_ to get up?"

Rei laughed softly. "No, but I was bored."

"Thanks," Kai muttered sarcastically, rubbing his face into his quilt a little. "Is that coffee?" he asked once he was done with his nuzzling.

"Thought you might need it," Rei replied.

Kai sighed and started to shift, wriggling around until he was on his back, and then sitting up, propped up against the headboard. Rei passed him one of the pillows off the floor, which he took to make his position a little more comfortable. Then he gratefully took the coffee mug.

"You see _this_ is why you'll be vice president," Kai smirked before raising the mug to his lips.

Rei grinned. "Still on about that, are you?"

"Well," Kai said into his cup. "I _do_ get disgustingly honest when I'm a bit drunk." At that, Rei suddenly remembered Kai's parting words from the night before.

'_I'll do it for you. Kissing, I mean.'_

Rei knew last night that Kai was being honest about it, but he wasn't sure if Kai would remember it the following morning. Probably, seeing as he remembered the stuff about the job. Against his expectations though –and maybe even Rei's- Rei wasn't going to be awkward with him, because Rei didn't see anything to be awkward about. He actually appreciated Kai's offer; no, more than that- he was _considering _it. Kai was right in that there was nothing homosexual about something as simple as a kiss, and maybe if Rei could try it out on Kai from time to time, he'd become more comfortable with the whole thing and he'd be able to put these fears of remaining alone firmly in the past. It wasn't like Kai hadn't meant it, so there was no problem.

For some reason though, Rei chose not to breach the subject. Instead, he decided to store the offer away in his mind to use another day.

"We love it when you _do_ get so honest, Kai," Rei snickered, choosing to remain on topic.

"I bet you do. I dread to think…" Kai trailed off and downed the rest of his coffee.

"Where's your shirt anyway?" Rei asked, remembering that Kai was topless when he shifted to put the empty mug on his bedside table. "It was cold last night."

"Hm? Oh," Kai said after glancing around in confusion himself. "I was going to take a shower last night, but I ended up falling asleep. I've actually still got my jeans on." He had the grace to look a little embarrassed.

Rei patted his leg. "Well, you go and do that then and I'll make you something to eat."

"Thanks," Kai muttered, stretching as he did so.

Rei stood up and walked over to the door. "What do you fancy doing today?" he asked, as if the thought had just occurred to him.

Kai shrugged. "Shall we just go and hang out at Takao's?"

"Sure," Rei smiled and left him to get ready.

* * *

Eight days later, and Kai was putting the last bits and pieces into his suitcase.

"Are you _sure_ about this, Kai?" Rei asked yet again.

"_Yes_, Rei," Kai stressed _yet again_.

The previous day Rei had received a phone call from his old team, and friends, The Bai Hu Zu, saying that they were touring Japan and that they'd like to see him. The only problem was that Kai couldn't stand _them_, and _they_ couldn't stand Kai. Thankfully though, Kai had offered a rather clever –and to Rei's surprise, _selfless_- suggestion; Kai would go and stay at his parent's estate for a week, and Rei's friends could stay in their apartment during that time. The only condition was that Rei stayed in his room, because he didn't want one of _them_ in there. It was the best deal that Rei could get; a lot more than he had expected, really, so he'd accepted it.

He just felt a little guilty that he'd effectively shoved Kai out of his own home.

"Kai," he said, sounding a little pleading.

"Rei," Kai replied in much the same tone. "Look," he said as he zipped his case up. "I really _should_ go and see my mom and dad. It's been too long since I've seen them, so really this has given me the motivation that I needed to walk into that tedious, mind-numbingly boring place that I call home."

Rei smiled. "So this isn't _home_?"

Seeming to seriously consider that, Kai straightened and looked around it slowly. "Hmm, I suppose it _is_," he said, sounding a little surprised. Then he sighed. "I should get going though. Do you mind me taking the car?" Kai asked. He'd asked earlier too, but he was obviously making sure.

"Yes. It'd be a nightmare fitting them all into it anyway," Rei grinned.

Kai grimaced, and Rei assumed that he was picturing just that. "I can see that it would be," he agreed after a short time.

"Kai," Rei tried one last time. "You really _don't_ have to do this, you know."

"I know I don't _have_ to, Rei. If I _had_ to, then I wouldn't," Kai simply shrugged.

"When will you leave?" Rei asked, frowning. It had been more than a year since he'd been apart from Kai for more than three days. He wasn't _worried_ as such, but he suddenly felt a little weird seeing Kai getting ready to walk out of their apartment for a while.

Kai cocked his head at him. "Well… _now_ I guess. Aren't your friends going to be here in a short while?"  
"Kai, you don't have to leave before they even get here. They don't dislike you _that_ much."

Snorting, Kai sent him a disbelieving look. "Who said it's _them_ I'm thinking about?" He gathered up his suitcase.

They were both guys, so there was no hug goodbye. In fact, since it was _Kai_ there probably wouldn't even be a 'see you later'. Rei truly did not know why he said what he said next.

"Kai, do you remember what you said to me? When you were drunk?" Rei said suddenly, making Kai pause as he went to grab for the door handle.

He gave Rei a suspicious (though slightly worried) look. "What about it?" Ah, so he definitely _did_ remember it.

"Look, I'm not gay or anything, but, what if I agreed to it?" Rei said hesitantly, cursing himself for blurting that out of nowhere.

"What do you mean by _agreed to it?"_ Kai looked genuinely curious, his intentions to leave forgotten.

"Well, if it would improve my confidence would you _actually_ let me… you know… for practice?" Rei flushed bright red. This all sounded a lot better and a _lot_ less homo in his head.

Kai however just cocked his head to one side, seeming to study Rei. He probably thought Rei was joking. "Would I let you kiss me to help you practice?" Rei nodded in answer. Kai stared at him a bit longer, before he came to the conclusion that Rei was being sincere. "Sure, why not?" he said nonchalantly.

"Really?" Rei gasped.

"Well, I _did_ offer… drunk or not," Kai replied rather gruffly.

"Because, well you see, Mao's coming around and all, and I was thinking…" Rei didn't know why he was lying. He didn't know why he was implying something that he knew would never happen, but before he could stop himself, the words were out of his mouth.

"What?" Kai's eyes widened. "You want to do it _now_?"

Rei felt like his face was on fire as a sudden sense of shame washed over him. He laughed nervously as Kai set his suitcase down and stared at him, looking a little bit annoyed. "You know, it's fine, it's nothing, forget—"

With a sudden whoosh of air, Rei had been slammed against a very hard, very _masculine_ body. Blinking in shock was all that he could do, especially since Kai's arms were pinning him in place, one hand on his hip, arm wrapped around the small of his back and the other hand on his shoulder. Rei's arms were squashed between his and Kai's chests a little uncomfortably. He hated feeling trapped, but unexpectedly he felt a strange sort of thrill run up his spine and his body slumped slightly.

Before he could even get his thoughts in order, Kai snapped him from his daze. "What you want to do," Rei found it extremely odd that, given the situation, Kai looked entirely neutral, "is to grab her. Women like assertive men, so _be_ assertive and aggressive. Sweep her off her feet- so to speak and then kiss her. Don't ask for it. If you know a girl likes you then, just _take_ it."

Rei waited for him to do just _that_, but instead he merely held on, watching Rei as if he were trying to discern if he had taken his words on board. "Well… are you going to show me _how_?" he said in a surprisingly steady voice, though he had _no_ idea _why_ he was prompting Kai to continue.

To be fair, he'd only ever had _one_ kiss. He really wanted to experience it again just to see if it was good as he remembered it being.

Kai on the other hand considered Rei for a moment before –just like he'd advised- he swept in without warning and plunged his lips down against Rei's, and totally unlike last time, held him tightly to him, ensuring that backing off wasn't an option.

Rei's eyes were like saucers and he let out a muffled sound of shock that Kai smothered by shoving his tongue into his mouth. The feeling of something slick and wet and definitely _not his_ entering his mouth made Rei's senses snap back into focus. His natural reactions screamed at him to fight back, because he was trapped and had absolutely no control over what was going on. This kiss was _so_ different from the last one.

It was, in fact, _better_.

So much so that Rei let go entirely and put his complete trust in Kai, responding to the kiss with more and more confidence until his tongue was locked in an instinctive dance with Kai's. His heart thudded against his chest and thundered in his ears, and his head went fuzzy as passion warmed his blood. Time was forgotten. His entire being was fully focused upon those kisses.

Which was why it came as such a huge surprise to him when the wall behind him jumped suddenly.

"Hey, Rei? You in there?" Someone called out in Chinese.

Rei's eyes shot open and he realised, to his disbelief, he'd somehow ended up against the door. Kai hurriedly released him and threw his weight against the door just as Rei's former team attempted to open it again. Rei rubbed the back of his hand to his mouth just in case anyone would have been able to see the incriminating traces of saliva. God… if he _hadn't_ been leaning against the door then…

His team would _never_ have understood. _They_ thought that it was disgraceful for two men just to hug, let alone do something as innocent as simply practising some kissing. If they had seen _that_ then Rei would have been carted home and forced to eat some strange herbs or something until he'd vomited the demon out.

He shuddered. It was so lucky that he _wasn't_ gay.

Looking back to Kai, he caught sight of his out of place grin. "Remember what I said, and good luck!" he said simply before he tugged the door open, waiting for the Bai Hu Zu to fall in before he stepped around them and walked off.

"Rude!" Mao called after him as she straightened herself up, and then turned back to her friends. "Rei!" she shouted joyfully, launching herself at him for a hug. Rei laughed and hugged her back. "Mao, guys, it's wonderful to see you!" he beamed.

"Good to see you too, brother," Rai nodded with a smile.

Gao also nodded, while Kiki hit Rei lightly on the arm. "It's been a while, Lanky."

"Kiki," Rei said indignantly. "I am _not_ lanky. You're just _short_."

"Yes," he agreed. "I am, but you're also lanky."

"I'm _not_,"

"Tell him, Rai!"

Rai grinned a little. "Well, you _are_ taller, Rei."

"You seem thinner too," Mao said worriedly. "Are you eating properly?"

"Yes!" Rei gasped, shaking his old team off. "I mean, I don't do as many weights any more, but I do a _lot_ more running…" he trailed off. "Hey! Why are we discussing my _health_? You've only just got here."

Mao laughed. "Sorry, Rei. We just worry about you, even though we shouldn't any more."  
"Yeah. Old habits die hard," Kiki added with a cheeky smile.

Rei rolled his eyes. "Come on, I'll show you to your rooms." He turned and led them into the main apartment. "That's the kitchen," he said with a point, and then he stopped in the living room. "You can use that room, that room, or that room," Rei said with motions.

"Which one is Hiwatari's room?" Rai asked, wrinkling his nose in distaste.

Rei bit back a sigh. "That one," he said. "Which is the one that I'll be staying in for the week."

Rai grinned. "Alright, I want _your_ room. Who knows what kind of incriminating things I can find in _there_."

"Ehehe," Rei laughed nervously. "Well, look if you guys want to dump your things in the rooms, I'll make us something to eat and then we can think about what to do tonight."

"To be honest, Rei, we had to get up early to get the train from Kobe. I personally would rather just relax today, if that's okay?" Mao asked.

"Seconded," Kiki shouted from Takao's room.

"That's fine," Rei smiled, a little relieved if he was honest. "You guys can help me make dumplings, since I missed New Years." It was a nationwide Chinese tradition to make and eat dumplings on New Years Eve with ones family. Before moving to Tokyo, Rei too had participated in this annual ritual, just like any other Chinese citizen. He'd tried to teach the BBA how to make dumplings, but they were more interested in buying and setting off fireworks than cooking.

Mao, Rai, Kiki and Gao on the other hand, seemed to think it was a fantastic idea when they all emerged from their temporary rooms only moments later, grinning widely.

* * *

Though it was just over two months late, Rei had a wonderful 'New Year', eating the dumplings that he and his friends had worked on together, and playing card games. Later in the evening, Rai had pulled out a bottle of Chinese white wine, which was so potent that it didn't take them long to get rather drunk.

Unfortunately at some point the conversation turned to relationships and the future.

"So, Rei, are you seeing anyone at the moment?" Rai slurred.

Rei winced, his hope that the question wouldn't come up at any point demolished but, a little drunk, he answered honestly regardless. "No, actually," he said. "I've kind of given up on the dating thing for now."

"Kon Rei!" Mao gasped out from where she was sprawled in an armchair. "I gave you up because I hoped you'd find the right woman. I will _not_ let you give up on dating, not after the sacrifice I made," she said, scowling fiercely.

"Yeah, but, Mao," Rei started.

"Come on, Rei!" Rai spoke up. "These Japanese women are sluts. They're up for it any time."

"Rai, stop being so racist," Rei sighed.

"I'm not," Rai shrugged. "Stop defending fucking Japanese dogs."

"My friends and team are Japanese, Rai!" Rei bit back.

"Hey, hey," Gao spoke up, breaking apart another of Rai and Rei's disagreements about the Japanese. "Gao no like Japanese much either, but Gao thinks we should respect Rei's team."

Rei and Rai fell silent, though they glared at one another when the other wasn't looking.

"Well, you'd best get a woman fast," Kiki spoke up, trying to disperse the tension in the room. "Or else rumours will start to fly."

"What kind of rumours?" Rei asked.

"Well, two guys living together looks kind of homo," Kiki snickered, and then all out laughed. Rai joined him. For some reason Rei didn't find it all that funny.

"Oh come, _on_ you two. Rei's a _real_ man, so stop being so stupid," Mao frowned at them.

Rei rolled his eyes at his former team. He loved them, he truly did, but sometimes they just couldn't break out of that country mind-set.

"Guys," he sighed. "This apartment was a gift, and I enjoy living with Kai, so stop mocking it."

Kiki snorted. "God knows how you find living with _him_ enjoyable."

Rei ignored his comment. "What are we going to do tomorrow anyway?"

"Ahhh no!" Mao broke in. "Don't think you can change the subject _that_ easily. We're getting you dating again."

"Mao, thank you," Rei said with a small smile. "But honestly, it's _fine_," he insisted. "I don't need to go out with some stranger to make me happy. I have you guys here, so I want to make the most of _your_ company."

"You know," Mao said slowly, a sly smirk spreading across her lips. "I think I have an idea."

"Ooooh, looks like Rei's going to get lucky," Rai cooed, seeming to have forgotten his and Rei's earlier spat.

"Mao, I—" Rei started.

Mao was quick to jump in. "No, Rei," she said firmly. "I'm going to help you, because if I couldn't have you, then damn it, _someone_ will."

* * *

Seventeen hours later, Rei was sitting across the table from non other than _Salima_.

He honestly had not seen it coming. After spending a lovely day with his former team, they had demanded that he take them out for a nice meal in one of the local restaurants that they'd spotted. Rei –blindly trusting them, as people tended to do with their families- had followed along, dressed nicely and accompanied them to the restaurant, only to be dragged off by one arm and forcibly sat down in front of a familiar red-haired girl.

Very familiar, Rei had realised the moment his confusion had cleared.

"They didn't tell you about this, huh?" Salima smiled sympathetically.

"Uhh, no. No they didn't," he replied, staring dazedly across the restaurant to where his old team were spying on him from behind their menus. "Look, Salima, I—"

"Rei," she broke in. "I said yes because if I hadn't, I think Mao would have called any other girl that she could think of up. She seems to think that I'm some sort of former love-rival or something."

Rei blushed. "She used to have a crush on me," he laughed nervously. "So now she's taken it upon herself to find me the perfect woman."

"_I_ used to have a crush on you," Salima responded. "But you don't have to worry, I grew out of that a couple of years ago."

Rei nodded, suddenly reminded of the information that only Team BBA and a select few others were privy to. "How… errr… are you? It's been a while, huh?"

"If you're asking me how the treatment's going, the answer is _well_," she smiled softly.

Rei smiled back. "Look, I'm really sorry about this," he apologised.

Salima waved a hand. "Don't be silly. It's nice. At one point I would have dreamed of this after all," she laughed.

Rei, despite himself, found that he was slightly more relaxed and grinned. "Not any more? I'm hurt!" She laughed a little more. "You look good, you know," Rei smiled gently and though he hesitated, he reached out to lay his hand upon Salima's. "Happy."

"Thank you, Rei. I _am_ happy." The smile on her face was so content that Rei felt his heart soar in admiration. Any previous discomfort he felt vanished entirely.

"I'm glad," he said sincerely.

"I can see," then she grinned impishly. "You were a bit uncomfortable to see me at first huh?"

Rei blushed. "I'm _that_ easy to read, huh?"

"Not really, but I get used to people being a little weirded out," she smiled.

"I'm sorry about that," Rei muttered.

"Don't be! Rei, I'm sick of apologies. I'm sick of _making_ them, which is why I'm doing what I'm doing. No one else has to back me up as long as I know I'm doing the right thing. I'm _happy_. I don't care what anyone else says, I'm just so… happy," she reached forwards and ceased his hands in her own. Rei ignored the looks of delight on the Bai Hu Zu's faces. He was enraptured by Salima's words. "I'm still _Salima_," She giggled suddenly. "I am the one and only! There's nobody I'd rather be." Her giggles subsided and she grew more serious, though she still smiled. "You only get one shot at this life and if you can't be _who you are_ without the slightest bit of shame, well, then what a waste."

"That's so… brave," Rei whispered.

She laughed. "Not so much brave, Rei. Just… smart."

Rei nodded, amazed at how strong she had become. As a girl she'd been unsure and self-conscious, but now she'd found strength of will and resolve. He admired that. He admired that so much that, against his expectations, he suddenly found himself supporting her.

"Well," he said finally with a charming smile. "Let's make this a date to remember then."

She beamed. "Let's."

* * *

_TBC..._


	6. Got to Have Faith

_So hey, I'm level 70 now, well, I have been for nearly two weeks. I'm already raiding. :D_

_Which is WHY I suck so much at writing and updating. Please blame Blizzard, not me. HOWEVER, this chapter has a little bit of naughty, so please to be accepting that as a humble apology from an old writer who's turned a bit hypocrite. _

_**"Got to Have Faith"**_

* * *

The rest of the week had flown by, but though Rei felt a little guilty for it, he was glad when it was coming to an end.

Oh, he still _adored_ his old team; they were his family. But after living in Japan for so long he could see how much he'd matured in comparison to Rai and the others. It was nice being able to speak his native language and discuss things about home that none of Team BBA cared about, but at times he found it really hard to relate to Rai –the closest thing he had to a brother- when he was going off on one of his Japanese/ homosexual/ loose morals rants. Before he'd left the village, Rei was sure that he was probably that narrow-minded, but after seeing the world Rei had come to see the folly in it. He _had_ hoped the same for Rai, but then, Rai didn't really have any aspirations to leave the village anyway.

"It's just everywhere at the moment, this fucking _gay_ shit," Rei rolled his eyes as Rai continued in his current rant. It had been a gay celebrity that had set it off this time, Rai catching him as he flicked through the channels, and immediately sneering. "Have you heard? They've found Chinese girls reading _gay comic books_. That Japanese crap. They couldn't kill us all during the war, so they try to do it by spreading _gay_ through the population to wipe us out."

"Rai, dude," Kiki broke in before Rei had a chance to. "I don't like homo stuff as much as the next normal guy, but how many times do I have to tell you that you can't _catch_ it."

"Rai, stop being so ignorant," Rei muttered.

"Oh, come _on_, Rei," Rai rolled his eyes. "You're honestly telling me that if some homo tried to touch you up, you wouldn't puke?"

Rei absolutely refused to picture _that_ and simply shook his head. "Look, I'm not saying that it wouldn't be disgusting, but I don't think gay guys go around feeling random people up. For one, they might get beaten up, and for two, I don't think they're that desperate."

"Of course they're desperate," Rai argued back. "They fuck with different men every night of the week," he paused to shudder. "All they need to do is stop being so selfish, find a good woman and settle down with a family."

"And live an unhappy life?" Rei shot back.

"Unhappy? How could anyone be _happy_ living a life of… of… being an abomination? Not being a _real_ man? It's sick, _they're_ sick."

Ah it was back to this. The fundamental and archaic view that homosexuality was a mental disease that many still carried. For all Rei knew, it _was_ because if he was certain of one thing, homosexuality wasn't _normal,_ but though he still found the idea abhorrent and refused to think of himself in such a situation, he'd seen so many gay television presenters and cosplay girls making out by now, that it really didn't bother him any more.

To each their own, and all that.

It was just something that Rai couldn't accept though. Rei loved him- he loved him to _death_. He was the closest thing Rei had to a sibling, but that was the reason why it annoyed him so much to hear Rai speak like some wizened old man from the last century. He knew that Rai was an amazingly compassionate, hard-working, and noble man. He had the heart of a lion –to sound cliché- and so it pained Rei that he was still so constrained by such naïve and ignorant views.

It was hard not to lose his temper sometimes. Rei wanted Rai to live in the world as it was now, for his _own_ benefit.

"It's a shame that things didn't go well with that Salima," Rai spoke up again.

"Don't you think he's _way_ too young to be thinking about settling yet? He should be about twenty-four or twenty-five," Kiki argued.

"I agree with Kiki," Mao said, looking extremely bored of the conversation.

"No, I know. It's just that Rei is living with a guy… it looks a bit _weird_," Rai said.

Rei frowned. "_How_ does it look weird? We're friends and we're on the same team,"

"Well, you just don't want people spreading sick rumours," Rai shrugged. "That Hiwatari should really just go back to his own house and let you be. That's probably why you never bring girls back. Because he's always hanging around here with nothing better to do. He's probably homo. He strikes me as the type," he sneered.

"Now look here!" Rei exploded, surprising himself, as well as the others. "_That Hiwatari_ is the man who is allowing you to stay in his home for a week without any sort of charge. He's the man who has left his own apartment because he knows that you don't like him," _and _he_ doesn't like _you_, _Rei added in his mind, but omitted it from his speech for obvious reasons. "And _finally_, gay? Kai's a proper _guy_. He likes guy things! He likes sports, he drinks beer, and he doesn't give a crap about girly things. He never acts like some… some… _woman_. So don't you come into my home –_his_ home- and start spouting bullshit about my team captain." His former team looked rather shocked by Rei's outburst and Rei sighed softly, feeling his indignation fade to leave a small headache. "Excuse me," he muttered, standing up from his sofa and walking the distance to Kai's room.

It was only a minute or so after he'd sat down on the bed that he heard a knock at the door.

"Come in," he muttered tiredly.

Mao popped her head around the door. "You sure?"

Rei smiled, happy that it was Mao. "Yeah, it's fine."

She smiled back and padded into the room, closing the door behind her before she walked over and plopped down onto the bed, next to Rei. "So this is Kai's room?" she asked under her breath, eyes sweeping over the various blue hues and the beech wood dressers and cabinets. She turned to Rei and offered a resigned smile. "It's friendlier than I thought it would be, for some reason."

Rei laughed. "What, were you picturing black walls and blood red sheets?"

"Not quite," she grinned. "More chains on the walls and a four poster bed adorned with gargoyles."

They both snickered at that, before Rei fell a little serious. "I know that I can never understand what Kai did to you and the Bai Hu Zu, and that he did a terrible thing to you that he never really apologised for but… he's really not _that_ bad. I mean, he used to be a complete _dick_ when he was younger but he's a lot better now," he gave a one-shouldered shrug and looked a little embarrassed. "He's almost _normal_ nowadays."

Mao smiled, half amused and half wishing to comfort. "Rei, I don't_ hate_ him. I don't like him, sure, but I don't hate him. Not any more." She put a hand on his shoulder, the gentle touch reassuring. "I'm sorry about Rai. I know he gets to you when he's like that. I don't like it much myself." She stopped to shake her head. "Sure, I agree with him to some extent, but sometimes he's just blinded by prejudice and I'm trying really hard to get over those myself. Sure, I think that things like being gay, and having loose morals are wrong, and yeah, I don't like the what the Japanese did to us in the past much either, but for the most part these things don't affect me, so I just don't _care_ about them. I wish Rai was the same way."

"Why _is_ he so bad this time anyway?" Rei asked.

Mao shrugged. "When we first got here, not long before we phoned you, there were these two girls kissing at the train station. Rai got all angry because he thought that it wasn't right to do in front of me- you know how protective he gets towards me. I mean, it wasn't nice to see, but I could just look away and pretend that it wasn't happening, but no, Rai had to stomp up to them and order them to stop it. Then they got in an argument with him and yeah… there you go. He's been holding a grudge all week."

"Ah, that makes sense in a sort of backwards Rai-logic way."

Mao smiled and plucked absentmindedly at a loose thread on her jumper. "You can't blame him too much. He wants to see and learn about the world, but he's always got the knowledge that he's going to be the next village chief hanging over him, which I think holds him back. He _wants_ that for his future, and it's a noble future to have, but instead of learning about the world, he's just applying the elder's opinion to everything to reassure himself that he doesn't want to live in the world outside of home."

Rei gave her an intent look. "And what about _you?_ Do you still wish to spend the rest of your life there too?"

Mao stopped toying with her jumper and stretched her arms out behind her so that she could lean back on her hands and swing her feet. "I think so. Sure, I love this world of bright lights and fast life, but I'm a _girl_ and it's different for me. Oh sure, people can pretend as much as they want that we all have equal opportunities, but we don't. I'm still just a girl and I don't want to do everything on my own. I'd love to say that I was strong enough but at the end of the day, all I want is security and happiness, and my family can provide that for me." A sweet and girlish smile spread across her lips. "Despite all of my travels and all of the wonderful things that I see, my favourite part is still coming home."

"But what about marriage?" Rei asked hesitantly.

Mao shrugged. "I'd still marry you, you know. Because even though I don't have a crush on you any more, you're still one the best men that I know and I trust you. Same goes for Kiki, though I'm not too sure I'd want to marry Gao. I'd be chained to the stove, I think." Her smile faded and she looked distant suddenly. "I'll marry who I'll marry. They'll give me _some_ freedom, so if it's someone that I start to fall for, then I'll go with it. As disgustingly traditional as it sounds, I really do want to just settle down one day and have my own family, but I've got to think twice before I give my heart away. Maybe if I went along with an arranged marriage, then I'd save myself heartache." She paused to give a self-mocking little grin. "But that doesn't mean that I don't secretly dream of love."

Rei smiled at her words, though a thought still occurred to him. "Why not Rai?"

Mao shot him a dry look. "Rei, though he is my cousin, he's more like a sibling to me than anyone else in my life. The thought of it… urgh! Gross," she giggled. "Though," she said after a moment's thought. "I'm very close to Uncle, so he might try to make me his official daughter, rather than just a favourite niece."

"I haven't thought about the future much," Rei admitted. "There's just a warm home and some faceless, perfect woman. I'm more concerned with what I'll do after Beyblading, to be honest."

"You'd never return to the village then?" Mao asked. She'd asked before, but she liked to double-check from time to time.

"Hmmm, no, I don't think so. I think that this is my place now; though I miss a lot of things from home too…" he trailed off.

Mao laughed. "Yeah _right!_ Like what? Staring at rocks to determine next week's weather?" she grinned.

"No," Rei admitted. "But I _do_ miss the stars."

Mao stared levelly at him a moment before snickering. "Rei, you're such a hopeless romantic."

"I'm not!" Rei defended himself. "I just like… oh you know what? Shut up," he grumbled. Mao giggled for a little longer before they both fell into a comfortable silence.

"A daughter," Mao said finally.

"Eh?" Rei replied, looking rather blank.

"I'd like a daughter in the future," she offered him a sweet smile. "I think I'm more of a daughter- mother than a son- mother."

"Either way," Rei replied, slinging an arm around her neck and drawing her into a loose hug. "I think you'll be a fantastic mother regardless."

"Thanks, Rei," she replied, nuzzling into his side briefly before she draw away stood back up. "Now then. Are we going to go back out there and have a fun last night together?"

Rei sighed dramatically and slithered off the bed too. "Fine, fine."

They were both smiling when they reached the rest of the team, still loafing around in the living room.

Rai had the good grace to look embarrassed as Rei approached. "Look, brother… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so rude," he said sincerely.

Rei waved him off. "It doesn't matter. Let's just have a good night together."

The Bai Hu Zu grinned in agreement.

* * *

Rei awoke that night to an extremely uncomfortable pressure. Blearily he glanced across to Kai's digital clock and noted that it was ten to three, and judging by the pitch black of the room, it was AM and not PM.

He shifted a little, but groaned as it sent shudders through his body. Dropping his face to bury it in one of Kai's pillows, Rei let out a long, defeated sigh.

With company over _and_ because he was sleeping in Kai's bed and using Kai's bathroom, Rei had been forcibly ignoring one specific need and now, after an entire week of not being able to do anything about it, he was absolutely, positively horny as _hell_.

There was no way he could ignore it either. He'd kept his natural desires pent up for a week and _now_ he was suffering for it. He bit his lip and tried very slowly rolling onto his side to alleviate the strain of forcing his hips to not drive themselves into the mattress. He couldn't help but wince though as his straining erection still managed to brush against the material of his pyjama bottoms.

Subconsciously he squeezed his thighs together to try and fight back the desperate need to –for lack of a better phrase- release his load, but it was unsuccessful. He cringed at the growing wetness spreading across the front of his trousers. Great. He was _leaking._

Rei let out a groan that bordered on a whimper and tried to fall asleep, knowing full well that he wouldn't be able to, but what else could he do? This was Kai's bed.

He didn't want to tale advantage of Kai's hospitality, he told himself as his erection throbbed almost painfully. He couldn't, even if it felt like his balls were about to fall off. He couldn't—

With a frustrated sigh and a silent apology to Kai, Rei rolled onto his front, eyes fluttering momentarily at the friction, before he steeled himself and reached over, throwing the drawer next to Kai's bed open and rummaging around inside it until he found a packet of tissues placed there for just this reason. The thought made him wonder briefly how often Kai did this sort of thing before he pulled a face and forced it to the back of his mind. Gripping them, he threw the covers off himself and lifted his hips up, tugging his trousers down to his thighs with his other hand. Then he dithered for a moment, remembering once again that this was _Kai's_ bed and that Kai would probably kill him if he ever found out about this.

_Well_, Rei's mind suggested cheerfully, _he'd best not find out then._ The persistent ache helped Rei with his decision, and without another thought, he set about relieving a week's worth of tension.

Unsurprisingly, it didn't take him long to bring himself off, the sudden memory of a tongue sliding against his own making his orgasm _explosive_ and it was all he could do to cover himself and bite back the ragged cry that was hovering in his throat.

When he _finally_ stopped spurting, Rei stared in disbelief at the sheer amount. It had been a _long_ time since he'd _needed_ to hold out any way. He waited for his erratic breathing to calm down before he glanced downwards and grimaced at the state of his hands. He carefully sorted himself out and snuck next door to the bathroom to clean up.

Upon returning to the room, he flicked the light switch and meticulously combed around the bed to make sure that there were no soiled tissues around, or a drop or anything suspicious on the linen. He wasn't entirely sure, so he decided to wash the sheets anyway just in case the next morning. He'd pass it off as being hygienic if Kai asked any questions.

He blushed, feeling a little ashamed. He'd… _masturbated_ on Kai's bed. That was a very weird, very rude, and very dirty thing to do, and he prayed that Kai would never, ever find out, lest he kick Rei in for desecrating his bed.

Still, Rei reasoned as he settled back into bed, he felt more relieved than he had done in days. His sleep for the rest of the night was unbroken and comfortable.

* * *

The Bai Hu Zu had left at half nine the next morning, leaving Rei a couple of hours to straighten the apartment out. He replaced the bedcovers of Kai's bed, as well as his own, but since it was such a horribly complicated and boring task, he forwent doing the rest of them and simply chucked the linen that he had removed into the washing machine. When he was satisfied that everything was at least all right, he moved to his sofa and settled down upon it, patiently waiting for Kai's return.

It was a little over an hour later than he'd anticipated when the familiar sound of the front door opening and closing, accompanied by the jingle of keys being dropped into a bowl, filtered through the air of the apartment.

Rei stood and beamed, as Kai appeared, though the sudden, stupid urge to hug him rippled through him. He frowned and pushed the feeling down, dismissing it as a silly reaction.

"Hey!" he smiled when Kai met his eyes.

"Hi," Kai replied, though Rei noted that he looked a little tired.

"Do you want a drink? Sit down!" Rei ordered, already busying himself with rushing off to the kitchen to grab a drink for Kai.

"Some coffee will do," Kai called back.

Rei flicked the switch on the kettle and dumped some coffee into one of the mugs he'd previously left on the draining board. Then, rather than wait for the water to boil, he moved back to the kitchen door to lean against the door frame.

"So how was your trip?" he asked brightly.

Kai mumbled something that Rei couldn't quite catch, but rather than move closer, Rei walked back into the kitchen to retrieve some biscuits from a nearby cupboard. By the time he had decided between cookies or digestives, the kettle had flicked itself off, allowing him to make up the coffee. Satisfied with his small accomplishment, Rei picked the mug up with his free hand and padded into the living room and over to where Kai had settled himself upon their sofa and slung his feet up onto the coffee table.

"Here," Rei said, not giving Kai much time to realise that he'd been addressed before he chucked the cookie packet at him. He was slightly impressed with how deftly Kai caught it, since some small, silly part of him had wanted them to hit Kai's head.

"Thanks," Kai grunted, already fishing out a cookie.

"So, come on then. Tell me all about it," Rei asked as he settled down next to him.

Kai shrugged. "I saw my mom and dad, we went out for a few meals and they introduced me to some of their associates. Nothing exciting really." He paused to bite down on his cookie. "Well what about you? Surely you had a more exciting week than I did."

"It was… interesting," Rei grinned. "They got me to go on a date with Salima."

Kai who had rather unfortunately been in the process of swallowing made a sudden choking sort of noise. "_Salima?_" he asked incredulously once biscuit fragments had stopped clogging up his throat.

"Yeah," Rei replied, taking a cookie of his own. "They thought that I needed a date, and Mao organised it for me. You know how she is nowadays with passing me over to a deserving woman and all."

"The irony is beautiful," Kai said, fighting back a smirk.

"Anyway," Rei continued. "We really didn't do very much. Went shopping, went blading, had a few arguments, made food, the usual really."

"Well, I'm glad you had a good week," Kai said with a small smile.

Rei smiled back, though it was a little sympathetic. "So, come on. What was so bad about your week?"

If Kai was surprised by the question, he didn't seem it. He just settled more comfortably into the seat. "It was nothing, really. It just seems that I'm marrying age, is all."

"Marrying age?" Rei responded with a frown.

"Those associates were all of good social standing, well off, and they all had daughters. It wasn't so bad this time, but I think that pretty soon, I'm going to be paraded around like a prize stud at a fair." Kai ran a hand through his hair in a distinctively tired motion. "Well maybe not _that_ far, but it still put a dampener over the whole week."

Rei gave him an empathetic look. "I know the feeling. My village is pretty bad for arranging your life for you. Still, luckily for us we don't have to worry about the marriage thing until we're about twenty- four."

Kai pulled a face. "Maybe I can convince my mom and dad to do that then."

"Come on, Kai," Rei laughed a little. "I'm sure your mother and father aren't _that_ bad! Why don't you just have a word with them about it if you hate it so much?"

"Maybe," Kai muttered. "I guess maybe I'm over-reacting a little. I mean, there's nothing definite at all, and even if there _was_ it wouldn't happen for a while yet."

"See?" Rei grinned. "Don't worry about it."

"I just…" Kai trailed off. Rei knew what he was struggling to say anyway. He didn't want to feel controlled. He didn't want to feel trapped. That's why he was _here_ and not _there_ after all.

And so, Rei simply gave him a cheery smile and stretched out. "Well you'd better appreciate all of the trouble I've gone to cleaning up."

Kai rolled his eyes. "Why didn't you just call a cleaner or something?"

"You're such a spoilt brat," Rei laughed.

"No, I'm just _smart_," Kai replied with a smug smile. Rei responded by stealing a cookie.

They fell into an easy silence and turned their attention to the television set, watching some sitcom rerun or other for a while. They were interrupted by the phone ringing at one point, which Kai answered, and Rei quickly guessed from the tone of his voice that it was Takao. He caught a few 'no's' and a 'tomorrow' and ventured an educated guess that Takao would be joining them the following day. Rei really didn't mind. It had been a week since he'd seen any of the BBA and he had missed them quite a lot.

Kai said nothing as he returned to the sofa, obviously figuring that Rei probably had the intelligence to decipher what was going on, and resumed watching the television set in silence.

Rei was so comfortable being back in Kai's presence that it wasn't until he felt his stomach rumble that he realised that they'd been sitting there for over an hour and a half. Blushing when Kai glanced at him in surprise, Rei gave him an embarrassed smile and stood up.

"I'll just go and have a look through the cupboards. See what I can create," he explained. When he went to walk away though, he found his movement halted.

His wrist was trapped in Kai's lax grasp, but Kai wasn't even looking at him. Instead he seemed to be staring off somewhere ahead, expression utterly unreadable. Rather than ask, Rei simply waited, patiently waiting for Kai to come out of his apparent daze.

"Hey," Kai muttered after a few moments, sounding unusually distant, though his eyes slid up to stare at Rei. "Want to kiss?"

Rei simply stared at him blankly. "What?" he asked. He needed Kai to clarify. Sure, they'd established that Kai would let Rei practice on him, but this time Kai was asking _him_.

"…Never mind," Kai shrugged and looked away to the television set once again, letting go of Rei's wrist and seeming to return to his normal self. Rei was utterly perplexed by this strangely random behaviour. The previous couple of kisses had simply been an act of education for Rei, and yet this time, Kai seemed to need… Rei wasn't sure if comfort was the right word, but either way, there was something strangely off about Kai at the moment and he seemed to think that a kiss would make him feel better.

The situation was so ludicrously ironic that Rei found himself sitting back down and shuffling until his thigh was pressed against Kai's. He turned to face Kai, completely surprised with himself as he said; "Sure."

Kai- who had snapped his gaze back to Rei when he'd felt the initial thigh-to-thigh touch- looked blankly at him for several long moments, and Rei began to feel ridiculously self-conscious. Though it was daft, he felt a blush staining his cheeks as panic began to rise within him. Could it be that he had completely misinterpreted their understanding? Was this some kind of obscure test?

"I—" Rei started, but was interrupted when Kai swiftly leaned in and placed a small, chaste kiss upon his lips. Rei blinked at him, lips still slightly pouted and eyes wide in surprise. Kai didn't pull back far, still leaning into Rei with heavy-lidded eyes.

They remained frozen like that for a few moments, breath hot on each other's faces, before their eyes slid closed and their lips met again. The kisses that followed grew more and more eager, each growing more and more comfortable and confident with every kiss. Arms somehow found themselves entangled around each other, small noises of appreciation found their escape from the backs of throats, and time somehow found itself ticking by as the two kissed over and over again.

* * *

_TBC..._


	7. In My Imagination

_Hehe, so I decided that you lot deserve an apology from my complete break down in the 'once a week plan'. I just finished chapter 9, so I thought, since I owe you one, I'd post up another chapter._

_Don't expect the new one as fast though, lol._

_**In my imagination**_

* * *

Kai eyed his food with distaste, but took a bite regardless. Takao and Max on the other hand had no qualms in munching down their burgers. Rei wasn't that fond, but since it was Takao and Max's treat, he couldn't really say no, but at least he liked the chips.

"So," Max concluded his story after taking a gulp of cola. "After that these kids came in. They asked me to sign their blades, as usual, but then they asked when we'd blade next, and you know, I just thought '_when _are_ we going to blade next'_?" he finished, pointedly taking a huge bite out of his burger, as if to stress that he'd finished his point.

Kai looked up from where he was raising a gherkin to his lips. "You know, the Japanese qualifiers are in just over a month. We should really start training full-time again."

"Yeah but, Kai!" Takao whined. "That's not fair on me and Max then, because we have to go to school. You and Rei will get much more practice than us!"

"Takao, we're a team. You should _want_ us to be good," Rei deadpanned.

"Yeah, I know, but that's not the point!" Takao protested.

Kai sighed in annoyance. "Don't you ever get tired of putting yourself first?"

"Oh," Takao scoffed. "This coming from _Mr Team Player of the Century_?"

Kai scowled, but before he had a chance to retort, Max jumped in. "We'll train together in the evenings, okay? And the weekends!"

"But what about when we're at school?" Takao repeated.

Rei shrugged. "Then blade during the breaks. Or better yet, do your homework in the breaks so you have all evening free."

"But then you'll have _all day_," Takao pushed.

Kai grunted in frustration. "_Look_. We'll train in the morning, _you_ can train in the evening, and then we'll train _together_ on the weekends. Fair?"

Takao looked ready to argue further when Rei broke in. "Takao, it's the best we can do. You _can't_ miss any more school. Mr Daitenji's had to pull enough strings as it is to let you get tournament time off."

"Fine," Takao sighed, though he still looked put out. Rei understood his reasoning, but he also knew full well that Takao wouldn't hesitate to use training as an excuse just to get out of doing schoolwork.

So instead, Rei offered him a sympathetic smile and finished off his meal.

They finished the rest of the meal in silence, Max being the one to collect up the rubbish and depositing it in the bin in the kitchen. He rejoined them as they were falling into their familiar seating arrangements, choosing his favourite armchair for himself.

"So," Kai started once they were all comfortable. "We need to set ourselves some targets, I think. Give us something to aim for."

"Aww, Kai! You sound like my _teacher_ does at school. Why do we need a _target_?" Takao said.

Kai frowned at him. "Because it makes us more organised, and organisation is key to identifying what our strengths and weaknesses are."

"You _do_ sound a little teacher-ish," Max grinned, though it was affectionate.

Rei said nothing, choosing to merely watch as Kai's frown grew to a glare as their two other team-mates teased him. If he was honest, he was truly proud of Kai. Five years ago, Kai wouldn't have given a _shit_ about all of this stuff, but over the past few years –the last couple especially- Kai had been really trying to take his team captain role seriously. Rei thought that it was an amazing progression from that uncaring, apathetic, brat of a child he was when they had first met. Cocky as it sounded, Rei felt like he had a part in it, and he would be lying if he said that he wasn't proud.

"I'm going to concentrate on raising my speed again," Rei spoke up first, knowing that Kai needed the backup. "I slowed down last year for more defence and attack, but I didn't like it. I want a lighter blade this year, so I can concentrate on several smaller blows rather than one heavy one."

"Yeah, but that'll leave you vulnerable." Gone was the childishness. Both Takao and Max had immediately settled, serious expressions upon their faces and the former already voicing his opinion.

"If I'm fast enough, defence shouldn't be a problem. I should be able to dodge and counter," Rei responded.

Max nodded faintly. "Of course, then your problem is stamina. Without the weight behind it, it'll not rotate for as long."

"Hmmm, not if we design the blade aerodynamically enough that it could gain kinetic energy from the cyclonic air movement that it will naturally generate," Kai mused.

"Eh?" Max cocked his head.

"Basically, if we design it properly, it could gain motion by feeding off the wind that it generates," Rei said. "Sounds like a good idea to me, Kai," he agreed with a delighted smile and a nod. He'd been considering such things himself, but until Kai had spoken his thoughts aloud, he hadn't dared to put too much weight into his theory.

Kai nodded back. "We'll ask Kyoujyu when we see him tomorrow."

"Well _I_ need to figure out a better way to counter. People are starting to get bored of my style," Max muttered.

"But then you'd have to lower your defence," Kai pointed out.

Maz sighed dejectedly. "I know."

"Max, don't listen to what anyone says. Your strategy is just as good and valid as anyone else's," Rei reassured him, wondering who could have thought such a thing.

"Yeah, Max! We're pretty perfect as a team!" Takao grinned, slinging an arm around his mouth. "Rei's all _zoomy_ and I've got power, Kai does… whatever _he_ does, and you've got the fortress defence. It makes us cool and means that we don't have a weakness!"

Kai snorted. "It's unusual for you to talk about the team like that, rather than yourself."

"Oh, har har, Kai."

Rei rolled his eyes. "Well, are we all agreed that we'll have Kyoujyu over some time this week so that he can look at our blades?"  
"Sure," Kai shrugged. "At a push, he can have a month to mess with them, though I'd rather have at least a couple of week's practice with them. You all remember what happened with the magnacore and engine gear systems."

Max shuddered. "I dread to think what would happen if Kyoujyu came up with something completely new and we only had like, a _day_ to get used to it."

"Well," Kai argued. "To be fair, it's only the Japanese qualifiers. We'll fly through that anyway. It's only a ceremonial thing. We're automatically qualified as the world champions."

"Not like we got to prove that last year," Takao grumbled.

The last leg of the previous year's world championships had been scheduled for Zimbabwe as a sign of goodwill towards the African Nations, but for political reasons, the finals had had to be cancelled at the last minute, leaving millions of beybladers and fans very angry. As a result, the last tournament had not been conclusive, and as a safeguard the finals were going to be held in Japan- it's birthplace.

The biggest problem for the BBA was, quite simply, life. Kai had taken a year or so out from his education, and Rei didn't even have to worry about education, so they were fine, but for Takao, Max and Hiromi it was a different case. They were coming up to their final years of school and the workload had increased, making it much harder for them to spend time practising. Of course, as national heroes, their schools were extremely lenient with them, but rules were rules and they _had_ to complete a specific amount of work if they wanted the time off to travel around the world blading. Kyoujyu was a little younger, so he had fewer problems, but it was getting a little more awkward for _him_ too.

"Right then," Rei said brightly, knowing that they were all feeling a little fed up and dwelling upon last year's mishap. "Let's make this a good last night of being lazy before we begin killing ourselves with training."

The sullen mood seemed to lift immediately and they spent the rest of the evening joking and discussing their early teenage years until Max dragged a bemoaning Takao out because it was getting late and they had school the next morning. Kai and Rei continued the path down memory lane until the small hours of the morning when eventually Kai drifted into silence.

Rei assumed that he was simply tired, but he surprised him by speaking up, albeit rather quietly.

"This is going to be my last year." Kai sounded strangely gloomy and Rei felt his lips quirk into a sad little frown, because if he was honest, he wasn't really looking forwards to it. Sure, Kai was going to be their coach, but it wasn't the same as the times when Kai would suddenly stand up and stomp up to the dish himself, just like a true fearless leader. It wasn't the same as the screams the crowd would give when they sent _the_ Hiwatari Kai out to represent the team. It just… wouldn't be the same.

God, and _then_ there was the fact that the year after would be Rei's last year, and the team couldn't really have _two_ coaches.

Rei suddenly felt a little afraid for the future.

"Well then, Kai," he said. "You'll just have to make sure that you go out in style. Be the best they've _ever_ seen." Rei was scared for the future, but he was damned if he was going to let Kai be.

"Hmmm," Kai mused, though he had a small smile on his face. "That would mean showing Takao up, right?"

Rei found himself smiling back. "If needs be."

"Right then," Kai nodded. "That just settles it." His moment was ruined by his need to yawn, and when he stood up, Rei found himself following suit. "I'm going to head to bed. It's been an… eventful week, and I get the feeling that it's going to get more so in weeks to come."

Rei smiled and bid him goodnight as they turned off the television set and the lights, and made their way to their respective bathrooms to see to their nightly hygiene rituals.

Still though, Rei was still feeling quite low. He didn't like thinking about the future for a reason- he simply didn't know what he was going to do. He had no formal qualifications; he wasn't particularly amazing at anything other than blading; and while, sure, he had money, he knew it wasn't going to last him forever.

The truth was, he _loved_ his life. He didn't want to imagine a time where he wasn't living with Kai, or where he didn't see Takao pretty much every night. Rei had already resigned himself to fate that unless his… well… _practice_ with Kai really paid off, he wouldn't even have a wife or family in future.

And so, as he so often did, Rei sought comfort the only way he knew how in the early hours when he was feeling strangely hopeless. A pleasure spike would at least put his mind elsewhere for a short while, but as he fumbled around in his pyjama bottoms he found himself largely unreceptive. Stress did that to him.

He gave a frustrated growl under his breath and cursed his own body for failing him. Call Rei a basic creature, but his recent orgasms had been pretty great and if he had no lovely little girlfriend to cuddle him, then he could at least derive some relief from _that_.

Rei was actually hard pressed to figure out _why_ it was getting better for him. He wasn't really _doing_ anything different, because Rei was a creature of habit. The previous night he'd been pretty horny but that was because of—

It was the kiss. Thinking about the kiss had made him come so quickly and intensely.

Rei gasped in surprise. How could he get hot from those kisses? He wasn't _gay_. He frowned. Those kisses weren't gay. Sometimes he forgot that they were just lips and Rei had had his eyes closed. It must have been the _feelings_ and the taste of the kisses that had got him worked up, because damn they _were_ really good.

He shifted unconsciously. If he was honest Rei never really pictured or imagined anything when he was seeing to himself. He'd heard that some guys did, but back in his village, no one had ever talked about things like masturbation, so it had never really occurred to him. He just tended to get aroused, reach down and sort himself out.

Tentatively, Rei slid his eyes shut and took a deep breath. He thought about the feeling of lips on lips and tongue on tongue and that one time of lips on jaw. He shivered slightly at the remembrance. That had been intense. Just the whole experience of kissing, of _making out, _was amazing and filled him with a fluttery kind of light-headed warmth.

And it wasn't gay. None of it was. It would be exactly the same as with a woman. Those wonderfully, heart-thumping, tremble-inducing moments…

He felt it. It flushed through him in sudden realisation, and with a look of amazement, his eyes slid open and he looked down in disbelief.

It _worked._

* * *

The following two weeks were a blur of training for, debating over, and thinking about beyblading, punctuated only by the necessity to eat, sleep and ever so brief periods of relaxing just to make sure that they didn't _die_.

Kai and Rei had still managed to find the time to help Rei practice other, _non-Beyblade­ _related skills when it was late at night and too dark to go to the dishes, but it was only a few times. More often than not though, they just sat and watched the sports channels because the Chinese qualifiers were fast approaching too.

Still, Rei was growing more and more confident with his ability, because the past couple of times he'd got Kai to make the occasional odd little noise that, while a little off-putting because Kai's voice was _much_ deeper than a girl's, were also extremely gratifying. Some of the noises he himself made were extremely embarrassing, but he preferred not to think about those.

Regardless of his own inexperienced reactions, Rei was feeling good. He felt more in shape than he had been for weeks, he was bursting with energy, and he was becoming a _great_ kisser, because Kai had told him so. Well, he hadn't said it aloud, but their practices often left Kai with slightly pink cheeks, and Rei knew for a fact that Kai _didn't_ blush, so he took it as a sign of victory.

Unfortunately though, the negative side of having such a deal was that the pair of them were extremely masculine, in that they were horribly competitive. It led to a strange sort of awareness in Rei that they were sometimes a little _too_ close to getting carried away with it all. Of course, they _wouldn't_ because they were both men, but sometimes when Rei lost himself in those kisses and forgot that Kai was male he'd sometimes find the weirdest feelings welling up in him.

He didn't like to think too much on that though, because the last thing he wanted was for some disgusting, queer images to pop into his mind, put him off and ruin his whole arrangement with Kai. It was, after all, extremely beneficial.

All he needed to do was work hard and do well in the tournament and the girls would be all over him. Maybe then, when he knew that he was a good kisser and he was riding high on success, his life would get even better than it was now. He sorely needed an ego-boost; so he would do his best in every aspect of his life, increase his self-confidence, get the girl and win the day.

Well, he hoped for something to that effect anyway.

For now though, he'd use what he had at hand. It wasn't like he was using Kai anyway, because Kai was willing to help. It was nothing malicious, it was nothing to be concerned about; it was especially nothing _gay_.

For some reason though, by an unspoken agreement, Kai and Rei would never, _ever_ let anyone else know about their arrangement. After all, they _last_ thing they wanted was for people to come to some kind of ridiculous conclusion about them

* * *

It was a Friday afternoon; two weeks into the new training schedule that Kai was packing to leave once again.

"How long will you _be_?" Rei asked, getting frustrated. Thus far Kai had received a call, put the phone down and had gone to his room to throw some clothes and underwear into a rucksack.

"Only until Sunday, Rei, I promise," he muttered as he forced a pair of socks into the bag.

"Can't they see you some time _after_ the qualifiers?" Rei groaned, following Kai around his room.

Kai sighed, sounding irritated. "Look, I _know_ it's a pain, but I _need_ to get this sorted. If I go today then they'll leave me alone for a few more weeks."  
"What could be _more_ important than training, Kai?" Rei scowled.

"My future?" Kai said with a serious expression.

"Ehh? Your _future_?" Rei's eyes widened considerably in sudden apprehension.

"Look," Kai paused in his searching for some object or other to look Rei in the eye. "Don't worry about it. It's nothing serious. I just need to sort this out face to face. If all goes well, I won't even need to talk to you about it."

"You're being cryptic," Rei pointed out. He hated it when people were like that with him.

"Sorry," Kai smiled, but still did not explain further, instead choosing to grab his wallet off his nightstand and jam it into his pocket.

Rei turned and marched out of the room, a troubled frown tugging his lips downward. He was more annoyed at the fact that their training schedule was going to be interrupted than at the fact that Kai was being secretive. Kai would tell him eventually, he was sure, but as a creature of habit, Rei couldn't abide having his plans thrown back in his face.

Kai found him only a minute later, sitting with his arms folded in a rather petulant manner. It made him smile. "I'll see you on Sunday," he said.

"Morning or evening?" Rei asked.

"I'll _try_ for morning, but I promise when I get back we'll go to the park and train into the night if we have to," Kai offered.

"I should be so lucky," Rei muttered quietly before he let out a long, dramatic sigh. "No, you'll be tired probably. Don't worry about it. I'll cope."

Kai chuckled. "Sorry about ruining your plans."

"Yeah well, best laid plans and all that," Rei relented, offering a small smile in return.

"Later," Kai said with a half wave as he moved towards the hallway.

"Bye," Rei replied, though he knew from the sound of the door shutting that Kai hadn't caught it.

Though he wanted to flop on the couch all day, he knew that the best way to make up for his ruined schedule was to work twice as hard just to prove a point. So he got up, moved to his room and changed into more suitable training clothes. Knowing that Takao and Max wouldn't arrive until about half past four, Rei made his way down to the park to do some running and some training on a more natural and difficult course for a few hours.

He made it back to his apartment for three twenty-past three and decided to kill some time by washing his hair. By the time he'd got it to a level of being damp enough to pull into a comfortable, low ponytail, he found Takao and Max sitting in their favourite chairs, watching some kind of truck program.

"Hey, Rei!" Max beamed. "Want some tea?" he offered with a nod towards a teapot on the coffee table.

"Thanks!" Rei smiled, moving to the settee and helping himself.

"Where's Kai?" Takao asked.

Rei paused in drinking. "Eh, he had something come up with his parents that he couldn't put off. He won't be back until Sunday."

"That sucks," Takao said bluntly, though it was a sentiment that they all agreed with.

"Well, come on then," Rei nodded and set his cup down. "Let's get training and show him what he's been missing out on when he comes back." He spoke with the unconscious authority of an experienced team captain. None of them were really aware of the point that they'd started looking to Rei as a back-up team captain, but as a rule, when Rei spoke, they listened.

So when Rei got up and led them down to the park, they happily obliged. Kai's absence seemed to do nothing more than encourage them as they ended up training until it after it had gone dark. It was okay though, since they had decided a few weeks back that Takao and Max would spend the weekends at the apartment to save travelling time. Max's father had had no problem with the arrangement as having a champion son bought more money into his shop than having his son help out. Takao's grandfather and Hitoshi agreed wholeheartedly with Takao getting a little more active and focused again, and a better blader's girlfriend could not be asked for in Hiromi, who loved the sport and wholly backed Takao. Kyoujyu would have joined them, but he was busy working on the schematics of their new blades and wanted to dedicate the weekend solely towards getting them ready for practising with the following week.

Rei was extremely tired when they returned to the apartment at seven fifteen, having already done a lot of working out that day. Still, it was a satisfied tired and he ate his instant noodles with great relish, not even bothering to take his bowl out into the kitchen, content instead to stretch his legs across the couch. With a happy groan and a stretch, Rei flopped back down, feeling extremely pleased at how his day had gone, despite the fact that Kai's leaving had initially thrown a wrench in his plans.

"So," Takao said in a way that Rei found himself curious. Takao was giving them both a secretive grin. "Now that Kai's finally out of the way for the night, you know what we need to do, right?"

Rei and Max looked at him blankly for a moment, though Max cocked his head slightly and offered an unsure smile, as if he might have some small idea, but wasn't willing to voice it aloud in case he was extremely wrong.

When neither of them spoke up for a while, Rei felt his interest rise beyond manageable levels and he stressed out a "_What?"_

"I think, boys, we need porn," Takao grinned, rubbing his hands together in a comically dramatic gesture. Max grinned and Rei stared at him as if he'd spoken in an alien language. When he saw no answer forthcoming from Rei, Takao rolled his eyes. "Porn, Rei. Porn. Where do you hide it? I've always wondered."

"Hide it?" Rei parroted, still surprised.

"Well yeah. I was hardly going to ask while Kai was around was I? So really, where do you hide it? Cough it up!" Takao laughed.

"I… don't hide it," Rei replied with a frown.

"Well, I've never seen it," Max spoke up. "And I must admit that I've looked a few times when choosing a DVD to watch just to throw it at you for a laugh."

"I don't _have_ any," Rei explained.

Takao and Max glanced at each other a moment before they burst out laughing. "Yeah, Rei, _sure_ you don't," Max choked out.

Takao was finding it equally hard to breathe. "You _liar_!" he spluttered.

"Guys," Rei said rather desperately. He hated being laughed at and he had _no_ idea what was so funny to begin with. "Really, I don't have any."

"_Every_ guy has porn," Takao scoffed.

Max was already on his feet. "Let's raid his room and find where he hides it!" he crowed.

"Great idea!" Takao followed suit and the two of them ran for Rei's room.

Rei watched them dart away with wide eyes, not quite understanding what was going on. Why did it _matter_ if he had no porn? He'd never needed it; the people back in the village had never spoken of it, and neither had Kai, so Rei had never even considered buying any. In fact, he found the idea of buying something like _that_ rather dirty and shameful, and yet Takao and Max had made out like it was something that every boy possessed.

Since Takao and Max had clearly implied that they owned porn, then Rei had to wonder if Kai did too. He'd never seen Kai possess any, and the only time when he and Kai weren't together was when Rei went out on dates, which Rei considered to be the time that Kai went out on dates, or something to that effect. For some reason, the thought of Kai owning porn struck him as a little seedy and below who he was. _Apparently_ since _all_ boys owned it, Kai must own some too, but Rei found himself disliking the idea immensely- almost to the point that Rei was sure at that moment, if he found out that Kai had some, his high regard of Kai might drop a little.

"Rei, _seriously_," Takao said, appearing a few long minutes later. "_Where_ do you hide the stuff?"

Rei suddenly felt a little nervous. Was he seriously supposed to have some? Was he strange for _not_ having some? "I… Takao, I _really_ don't have any."

"Then where the Hell do you _watch_ it? I never see you online!" Takao pushed.

"I… don't," Rei admitted. Takao and Max gawped at him.

Max exploded first. "You _don't?_ Then what do you jerk off to?"

Rei flushed. He didn't really talk about this stuff with _Kai_, and Kai was his closest friend. He shifted, feeling horribly uncomfortable discussing something so personal with his two _younger_ friends. He cursed his village upbringing. He'd heard before that guys often talked about stuff like masturbation, but he was still so influenced by village tradition and morals that it still all seemed a little dirty and far too intimate to be openly discussed. Still, he supposed it wasn't a particularly good idea to be so trapped by such restrictive values, especially since he'd seen how unintentionally small-minded and ignorant his old village could be, so, despite the fact that his tongue felt like lead, he forced himself to speak. "I… jerk off… whenever I get too horny to ignore it. I usually do it once at least every couple of days though!" he blurted out in a vain effort to please his two friends.

Takao and Max still looked shocked, however.

"Have you ever _seen_ porn?" Takao asked him in the same way that one might ask _'Have you ever breathed?'_

"Of course I have!" Rei said defensively. The sad thing was though, that it was complete bullshit. The way Takao had asked though, God. Was he some kind of complete _freak_ for not watching it? He'd never _wanted_ to. Sure, he had an active imagination, but he didn't like the idea of watching people do intimate things. It made him feel creepy, or like a pervert. Back in the village, you were made to feel uncomfortable if you ever saw someone _cry_ or simply hug their husband or wife, let alone _have sex_! Rei knew enough of what happened during sex. Penis got erect, and then penis went in vagina, cue some awkward movement, a spike of pleasure and that was all there really was to it. Everything else could be learned by practice, so Rei had never felt the need to be a voyeur to some plastic, disgusting slut being done by a man with a huge cock.

Apparently though, that was extremely weird, and Rei felt horrible for it.

"Right," Takao declared, resolution clear upon his face. "Tomorrow, I am going to run back to mine, pick up some of my best stuff, and then tomorrow night, boys, we're going to teach Rei the joys of porno."

Max grinned. "That is an _excellent_ idea."

"Yeah, I can't wait!" Rei said with cheeriness that he did not feel.

* * *

_TBC..._


	8. Pressure

Sorry about the wait, be prepared to wait longer yet, but I shall try my utmost to write when I am not stressing about my disse Sorry about the wait, be prepared to wait longer yet, but I shall try my utmost to write when I am not stressing about my dissertation.

Warnings: Naughtiness.

**_Pressure_**

* * *

True to their word, the following evening Takao and Max forcibly sat Rei down upon his beloved sofa and waved several DVDs in front of his nose.

"Do you prefer big tits, blondes, lesbians or spanking?" Takao asked conversationally.

Rei paled, none of them sounding particularly appealing. "I don't mind," he forced out. "Though I don't want the lesbians," he added upon further thought.

"Come _on_, Rei. Choose!" Max pleaded as if this was very important to him and Takao.

Rei glanced at the DVDs again and fought back the urge to blush. He'd never really liked large breasts, and the idea of hitting someone on the ass didn't seem very sexy to him, and he _definitely_ didn't want to watch anything homosexual. "The blonde one?" he put forward. He liked blondes anyway. Well… he liked _Max_ and he was blonde so…

"Okay!" Takao grinned, throwing the other disks down onto the coffee table. Rei brushed aside the temptation to kick them off.

"I remember this one from when I borrowed it from you," Max winked. "It was pretty good."

"Yeah, the chicks were _so_ hot!" Takao said as he opened up the DVD player and slid the disk in. Then he stood up and bounded over to his chair. Max flicked the lights off and sauntered over to sit down too.

Rei shifted, not wanting to be in the room. What Takao and Max watched in their spare time was their business, but Rei honestly didn't want to be a part of it. The only reason why he was even tolerating this was because for the sake of his pride. If he made a big deal, then they'd want to know why he was so against something that seemed to be a normal male pursuit.

How, he wondered as the woman on the screen rubbed her face against a man's crotch and made a few dramatic noises, how could men watch this sort of thing _together_? Surely, since men were such basic and visual creatures, they'd get aroused. Why would anyone want to be sitting with a bunch of aroused boys? The thought that Rei would probably get an erection during the course of the 'movie', and that Takao and Max would know about it _mortified _him. He knew it was silly, but these sorts of thing were deeply personal to him. He just couldn't understand where the attraction laid in sitting in a room full of sexually aroused boys watching something that was better watched alone.

In all fairness, he thought as the woman on the screen starting almost violently sucking on the man's cock, he couldn't see the attraction in watching _this_. Sure, his mind wondered and he appreciated the overall sentiment, but it was all rather hideous. He had no problem with the penis, he'd seen his own often enough. He certainly didn't like the fish lips that encircled it though, or the clotted, matted, blackened eyelashes that fluttered with every downward plunge. Rei risked a glance over towards Takao and Max, only to find them staring at the screen intently. It made him feel stupid, so Rei looked back at the screen again, focusing on the act of fellatio and tried instead to imagine what it would be like to receive a blowjob. It was pretty amazing, judging by the way the man was grunting and clutching onto a head of blonde hair, jerking his hips frantically into her mouth. A hand felt pretty damned good, but something as warm and wet as a mouth would probably feel mind-blowing, so Rei tried to focus on imagining those sensations. Every time though, he thought he was starting to get into it, something the woman would do would repulse him.

Still, for the sake of saving face, Rei fixed his eyes on the screen and watched, trying not to flinch when he came on her face and she moaned like a cheap whore. For the rest of the movie, he watched with feigned interest, taking mental notes at odd points that he thought he could learn from.

When, thirty-five minutes, four apparent orgasms and countless moans, groans and over-dramatic screams later the movie ended, Max turned to Takao with a grin. "That was _hot_."

"I know! So, what did you think, Rei?" Takao smirked, eyes alight with playful deviousness.

"It was ummm…" Rei trailed off, feeling nervous at Takao and Max's expectant looks. "It was pretty intense, and hot, and it really hit the spot." He fought to prevent himself from pulling a face at his words. _It really hit the spot?_ Takao and Max thankfully seemed satisfied with his answer.

"That's a boy, Rei!" Max smiled and gave him thumbs up.

"Well I say that we help further Rei's education and move onto _'Asian Chicks with big Tits volume three,'_" Takao suggested. "After all, it might give him some ideas, what with Mao having those huuuuuge—"

"Yes, Takao," Rei interrupted, feeling something of a brotherly indignation. "We all know. Fine, put it on."

"Oooh, Rei's getting jealous," Max laughed good-naturedly.

Takao was already on his feet and slapping Rei on the back. "Looks like we've converted him, Max! He can't wait to get the next one on."

Rei made it through the next one, and part way into the spanking one, before Rei couldn't fight off the dual feelings of boredom and weariness from their earlier training. With a huge yawn, he stood up and stretched, drawing Takao and Max's eyes to him.

"Guys, it's been an interesting night, but I'm really tired and I'm going to head to bed," he announced. The other two glanced at one another before they started to snicker. Rei blinked in confusion. "What?"

"Going to go and blow your load, more like," Max giggled out.

"Awww, Rei, you don't have to be shy with _us_," Takao smiled.

Though Rei tried to fight it, he felt a hot blush spread across his cheeks. The thought hadn't even occurred to him that it might look like he was hurriedly running off to jerk off after that hour and a half of _thrilling_ viewing. Still though, something told him that he shouldn't deny it. It was clearly a masculine tradition that he had not been taking part in, he didn't want to look any weirder by not being turned on by that… that.

So instead, Rei just smiled benignly and bade them goodnight. He ignored their laugher, and crude comments and made his way to his bathroom to brush his teeth. Once done, he walked back into his room, unsurprised to hear the wails of a woman in the throes of orgasm. He rolled his eyes, closed the door and flicked off his light before throwing himself onto his bed. Wriggling under the covers, Rei heaved a relieved sigh feeling extremely glad to have escaped.

Was it really so weird to find that stuff unappealing? Rei hated that he was so traditional and so prudish due to his upbringing, but he envisioned sex being about love. If not love, then at the very least, someone you liked and felt good with. Not about some woman with horribly large breasts being _fucked_ from eight different positions by a man with an embarrassingly huge penis. Still, he supposed that he could learn from that sort of thing. For the future, when he was finally seeing someone who he cared about, or maybe even married.

Rei tried to picture it, touching his girlfriend in her intimate places, listening to her breathy sighs, plunging himself into her warmth, but he remained strangely unresponsive. After a couple of minutes, he shrugged it off, putting it down to the fact that he was tired.

* * *

Kai had returned by the time Rei, Takao and Max had made it back for lunch. They all welcomed him and invited him to eat with them, but he shrugged them off and slunk off to his room.

"What do you reckon has got his goat?" Takao wondered aloud.

Rei sent a little worried frown off in the general direction of Kai's room, before he wiped it from his face and moved into the kitchen. "How about something simple like udon?" he asked.

Takao and Max both agreed and set about making it while Rei walked out to go and knock on Kai's door.

The door swung open moments later with a distinctly annoyed looking Kai emerging to give him a questioning look.

Rei cocked his head. "You want something to eat?"

Kai's gaze shifted from Rei to the kitchen doorway and back. "No."

Rei frowned, impatient with rudeness from anyone, let alone Kai whom he had though had long since grown out of it. "Okay, fine. I'm sorry for interrupting," he replied with the tiniest hint of haughtiness.

"Wait," Kai spoke up as Rei made to walk away. When Rei turned back, Kai offered him an apologetic half smile. "Sorry, I'm just not hungry right now. I'll have something later."

Rei, a little more satisfied, but still worried, simply smiled and walked back into the kitchen.

"Is Kai not joining us?" Max asked when he returned.

"No," Rei said, reaching out to stir the noodles a little.

"He seems really pissed off," Takao mused. "Any idea what's bothering him?"

Rei shrugged. "No idea," he answered truthfully. "Max, can you grab the soy sauce for me?"

"Sure," said Max. He didn't need to be told where it was.

The noodles were ready in only another minute, and they dished them up and decided to eat while standing around in the kitchen talking about little things.

When they had finished, Max glanced at his watch and pulled a face. "I have to go, guys. I promised my father I'd help him take the stock into the back room later. It'll be good for my muscles anyway."

"Okay, Max. We had a good practice today," Rei smiled.

"Yeah, too bad, Max," Takao pouted.

"Maybe you should come with me, Taka," Max suggested.

Takao cocked his head in confusion. "Why?"

"Because," Max explained, "Kai's not in a very good mood and I think it'd be better if we left Rei to talk to him and make him feel better."

"Why Rei?"

"Yeah, why me?" Rei agreed. Not that he was complaining or anything, but he was genuinely curious.

Max rolled his eyes as if to say '_duh_'. "Because, clearly, you guys are really close. I think Kai trusts you more than the rest of us combined. If he'd want to talk to _anyone_, I'd bet my blade it would be you."

"You really think so?" Rei asked, slightly astounded. Sure, he knew that he was Kai's closest friend, and that Kai thought a lot of his opinion, but he'd never been aware that it was so easy to see to everyone else.

"Of course I am. I think he'd be lost without you, Rei," Max grinned.

"I think he thinks a lot of us all," Takao frowned. "He just doesn't like admitting it."

"Oh, I'm _sure_ of that too," Max said, "but he's been closest to Rei since day one."

"Yeah well… I guess I don't want to deal with an angry Kai, so I think I'll leave it to you anyway, Rei," Takao said with a guilty smile.

"Oh, thanks," Rei replied sarcastically.

They walked out of the kitchen until they stood in the main room of the apartment.

"We'll see you guys tomorrow, then," Max said.

"Yeah, after the Hell that is school," Takao groaned.

Rei laughed. "Fine. Oh, and phone Kyoujyu to see how he's getting on. I feel kind of bad for leaving him with all of the technical stuff again."

Takao frowned. "Don't. You know he loves that sort of stuff."

"I guess," Rei smiled.

"See you!" Max was already dragging Takao away. Rei waved and watched them leave before he walked towards Kai's door.

He knocked on it once and called out. "They've gone now." Then he walked away and sat down, putting on his favourite Chinese channel.

Rei started to grow worried when Kai still didn't emerge for a long while, and he figured that he must be _really_ upset over whatever it was that was the matter. In fact, it took Kai nearly an hour to leave his room, the sound of the door clicking open jolting Rei from his viewing.

"You hungry?" Rei asked, jumping up form the couch.

Kai shook his head. "I'm fine, thanks."

"Well can I get you a drink?" Rei pushed.

Kai walked slowly over towards the settee. "Honestly, I'm fine. Stop worrying so much," he sighed as he sank down onto the plush seat.

"Kai—"

"Rei," Kai interrupted. "It's nothing, really. Can we just sit, have a few beers and just enjoy whatever shit's on TV?"

Rei eyed the clock. "Half past four's a little early to start don't you think?"

"It's Sunday afternoon," Kai shrugged.

"I see your point," Re smiled as he stood up. Quickly, he made his way to the kitchen, and grabbed a couple of cans of beer from the fridge. Kai knew Kai best, and if he decided that beer would help, then Rei would fetch it for him. "Here," he offered upon his return.

"Thanks," Kai replied, wasting no time in grabbing it from Rei, opening it, and gulping some down.

Rei watched him with faint worry. The speed at which Kai seemed to be drinking implied that he was only drinking to get drunk, and that meant that there was something weighing heavily on his mind that he wanted to forget.

"Is it… serious?" Rei asked tentatively as he watched Kai drain the can.

Kai stared at the can for a long moment, before he set it down on the coffee table. "No," he said simply.

"I don't believe you."

Kai gave him an annoyed glare for a half second, before he softened into weariness. "It's not serious. It's just… my parents are trying to shape my future in a way that I don't want it. There's nothing malicious or selfish to it. They just think that they're doing their best for me."

"What are they trying to do?" Rei asked in an almost coaxing manner.

"Look, I'm not going to say anything, because I won't do what they suggest. Simple as. I don't want to talk about it because it's non-existent. It's just annoyed me, that's all. Want another one?" Kai asked as he rose to his feet.

Rei blinked, and then cast his gaze down to his own unopened can. He looked back up at Kai. "Don't you think you're going a little too fast?"

Kai stared at him levelly for a moment, and then shrugged. "I'm not trying to get drunk, Rei, and I'm not going to." With that, he wandered off into the kitchen and returned a few moments later with another can.

Rei was pleased to notice that this time, Kai drained his can at a much slower rate, taking the odd mouthful over several minutes rather than downing it in one go. They settled into a comfortable silence, though Rei stole the odd glance, just to make sure that Kai was all right. It was just over an hour later that Kai set his fourth finished can down and turned to Rei.

Rei cocked his head to one side, looking at Kai expectantly as he opened his mouth to say something. He seemed to stop himself, because he closed his mouth and frowned. Rei made to prompt him, when Kai reached out to take a hold of his shoulders. Blinking once in surprise, Rei held his breath when Kai pulled him towards his body and leaned in to press his lips to Rei's.

For a moment, Rei felt his body stiffen unintentionally. It wasn't that he didn't _want _to, because he really enjoyed these practices, but they usually agreed to it beforehand; whether it was verbally, or with clear to read gestures. Kai had never just pulled him into a kiss, and it struck him as a bit strange. It was almost a bit… _coupley_. The thought sent a cold chill running through him and he shoved the thought aside immediately. Those stupid strange thoughts had no place in their arrangement, after all.

Closing his eyes, Rei relented figuring that, like before, it was more than likely that Kai was trying to soothe his frustrations by practicing his kissing on Rei. It was something that Rei could understand because, though they were strangely thrilling and exciting, it was certainly a relaxing pursuit and it often helped him to clear his mind, so he assumed that Kai was pretty much the same.

He decided to stop thinking about it so much when Kai pushed his tongue into his mouth. He pushed his tongue back against the other one, before retreating back a little to suckle on it a little, since he rather liked that when Kai did it to him. If Kai's small groan was anything to go by, so did Kai. Rei felt proud for a moment, before it faded when, to his surprise, Kai started pushing him backwards. It was a slow decent, but soon enough, Rei found himself laying down upon the cushions with Kai leaning over him. Surprisingly enough, he found himself oddly comfortable, despite the fact that his legs were folded kind of awkwardly. It felt kind of natural, like he should have been lying down from the start. It made things seem more even more personal, and he felt more and more pleased with this new situation with every kiss they exchanged.

After a while, Kai removed his mouth from Rei's, and Rei felt strangely disappointed, only to gasp a moment later as Kai moved to his neck. It sent shudders through him as his neck tingled pleasantly and he curled his toes without thought. He sighed in satisfaction and closed his eyes, letting his mind drift under the treatment, though when Kai started sucking on his neck just behind his ear, he squirmed slightly at the shiver that rippled down his spine. Heat rose to his cheeks, alighting them in a bright blush. Rei couldn't quite place why, but he suddenly felt a little nervous. The feeling was mostly crushed by the good sensations, so while his gut squirmed in what almost felt like a warning, he ignored it, because he also felt _really_ good just letting Kai do as he willed. Really, he had _no_ idea that people nuzzling and mouthing at your neck felt _that_ amazing.

It was surprising just how hot he was starting to feel, though. The initial warming of his cheeks had spread over his chest, and he felt like it was tighter somehow, because he was finding it a struggle to keep breathing normally. He still managed to get a soft moaning sound out though, when Kai's mouth found his collarbone, and, almost as if he could sense the heat curling down through Rei's body, one of Kai's hands moved to rest upon Rei's left shoulder, before sliding gradually across his chest.

It was almost with a _click_ that the warmth settled itself in the pit of his stomach and erupted out to inflame his entire body. He only had half a second to process the sudden realisation when he was alarmed by a sudden dramatic increase in heat in his lower regions. It took him a second further for him to realise that the temperature rise had come from another source of body heat joining his own. Another source being— Rei's eyes snapped open. Kai had grabbed him. Kai had grabbed his _cock_.

With a shout of panic and a shove, he dislodged Kai and sent him tumbling to the floor with a surprised noise. In a quick movement, Rei had pulled his legs up to curl up in front of him and raised his hands to his chest, not caring for a second how much he resembled a virginal girl. He stared with wide eyes at Kai as the other regained his bearings.

Sitting up while rubbing his head where he'd managed to bump it on the coffee table, Kai glared at him through slightly dazed eyes. "What the _Hell_ was that for?"

"You _grabbed_ me, Kai!" Rei shot back. His voice was a higher pitch than he would have liked, but for that moment, he was willing to ignore the fact that he was verging on hysteria as he felt it was rather justified. "You _grabbed me_. You _touched _me. I mean, I know we're practicing on each other and that you see me as a stand-in girl, but I'm not, Kai. I can't believe you'd get so carried away that you'd forget that it was _me_!"

Kai glared at him. "Last time I checked, Rei, girls don't have erections."

"_I_ _do not have an erection_!_" _

Kai smirked, though it was completely devoid of humour. "Sure you don't, Rei. You just keep telling yourself that. You just keep hiding from the fact that you just got hard from a _guy_."

"Stop it!" Rei flinched. "Stop being so disgusting, Kai! Just stop it." Rei's eyes widened when he realised that his eyes had begun to water and his breathing had become laboured- sure signs that he was seconds away from bursting into tears. What the Hell was going on? His world had just shifted in a strange and horrible way and he was struggling not to fall apart.

Kai could see it too, regretting his words immediately when he saw that Rei looked about ready to cry. His eyes softened and he sat up properly. "Rei…" he tried softly. Rei refused to even look at him, clearly fighting for some composure. "Rei, I'm sorry I got carried away. I'm under some stress from my family right now and I took my stress out on you and it all got out of hand. I'm sorry, okay?" His voice turned more soothing. He tried to smile, though Rei was still staring at his hands pressed to his chest. "And hey, the only reason you got aroused was because you got carried away too, right? You were probably thinking about some beautiful chick, right? It doesn't mean anything, Rei." He trailed off then, feeling completely out of his depth. Raising his hands, Kai went to touch Rei in some way, maybe pat his leg, or pull him into a hug, but he remained indecisive until after only a couple of moments, he moved his hands back into his lap. "Rei, please tell me that we're still friends," he said in a tiny voice, loathing the fact that he was letting neediness show, but knowing that he needed to make sure that he hadn't just managed to unintentionally destroy the only close friendship he'd ever had.

Rei looked up at him then, and forced a smile. "Of course we are. You're my best friend." He looked away, looking ashamed. "I- I'm sorry that I freaked out so much. I just…" he trailed off, unable to voice just _one_ of the emotions from within the maelstrom raging inside him at that moment.

"I understand, Rei. It's okay," Kai smiled, voice as gentle as he could manage.

It clearly wasn't though, since the following silence revealed a tension thick enough to be cut with a knife. They remained frozen in place for a few minutes longer, staring at the floor, until Rei hesitantly stretched his legs back out, obviously deeming it safe enough to unfold himself from his defensive position. He moved around until he was standing and then paused. "Well… goodnight, Kai."

Kai glanced at the clock, but chose not to say anything about the fact that it was only ten-past six. "Night," he replied, watching Rei walk away. As soon as he was out of sight, he scowled furiously and whacked himself non- too gently on the arm. The frown quickly gave way to a rather sad expression as Kai stared with dull eyes at the coffee table, processing what he'd unintentionally done and the damage it might have caused to the one friendship he was willing to fight to the death for.

With a ragged sigh, he dragged his hand through his hair. "How could I have been so stupid?" he asked himself quietly. His shoulders slumped. "These are the days. It never rains but it pours," he muttered, and after a couple more moments, he too rose to his feet and headed into his bedroom to hide away for the rest of the day.

* * *

Though they were mature and wise enough not to say anything, Takao, Max, Kyoujyu, and Hiromi were very aware that something wasn't quite right between Rei and Kai.

They had both responded eagerly to Takao's suggestion of spending the week for preparation the school board had graciously given him, Kyoujyu and Hiromi around the apartment. After some arguing, Max's school had given him a similar deal and he too had been made extremely welcome. Not that it was strange for Kai and Rei welcome them into their home, but they weren't usually met with so much _relief_.

The atmosphere between Kai and Rei was _weird_. As far as they could tell, there hadn't been some kind of falling out, since they were both obviously trying to act normal towards one another, though their smiles and voices seemed strained and they seemed be avoiding any sort of bodily contact with each other. When they talked to one another, it looked more like they were doing it to keep up appearances rather than actually _wanting_ to talk to each other.

Yes, something very strange had gone down, but though the rest of the team were positively _itching_ to find out what it was, they knew better than to pry.

Hiromi thought that it was because this would be the last time that Kai would be entering the Japanese qualifiers as a player, and Rei and Kai were too masculine to admit that they were upset by it.

Max's theory was that one of them had found some terrible secret about the other. Something that they weren't supposed to know about and so, they were trying to pretend that it hadn't happened.

Kyoujyu suggested that it might be nerves of the on-coming tournament, but this was quickly dismissed by the others since, when it came to blading, Kai and Rei were nothing but confident in their abilities. Kyoujyu had hid behind his laptop and admitted that _he_ was still nervous before competitions.

Takao had said that it was probably just Kai's fault somehow and he didn't care as long as they got it sorted out between them soon.

They _had_ to get it sorted out soon. With the match day on Monday, they had only one day left to get any problems out of the way so that they could have a clear mind to blade with. Because they were a team, first and foremost, and if Kai or Rei forgot that, then it would be the team that suffered for it.

* * *

_TBC..._


	9. You Spin Me Right Round

I have spent many a happy year in this fandom, guys and I cannot thank you enough for it. I think everyone's gathered it by now, but am truly, and officially bowing out. To anyone still left in the fandom, you have my deepest respects.

This story was intended to go on for a long time yet. I had so much for it planned, but then slowly I just lot the will to continue it. I stopped relating to and caring about characters that had been so important to me for five years. I cannot explain how and why it happened, but it did. You have my sincerest apologies.

I've lost friends, believe it or not, from simply not continuing to be active in Beyblade any more. Please, never let a fandom affect a friendship.

Call this fic what you will; a let down, a "swan song" (as it has been called on one occasion, much to my aggravation), something best forgotten, but this chapter has been sitting here for a year now and I think that it needs to be posted, because it does offer some sort of direction as to where the future of it would have led.

Thank you for all of the support and kindness.

Jess.

You spin me right round

Rei sighed and glanced at the clock for the fifteenth time. He hated waiting around for their would-be competitors to narrow themselves down through elimination matches, since it was usually pretty clear from the first round who were the strongest bladers. As a professional, Rei could not only put his money on who they'd be facing off against in the final round, but also what level of challenge they'd provide. He wasn't worried about this year's qualifiers, from what he had seen so far. The real challenge would begin as soon as they faced off against Yuriy and his Neo Borg team, because upon watching the American, European, Chinese, and the African tournaments there didn't seem to be any newcomers crashing onto the scene. There was still the Mexican and Australasian tournament to go, but past experiences told him that it was unlikely they'd be facing someone who posed a real threat from those. Of course, nothing was a given and if he was honest, Rei sort of hoped that there would be. He loved to see new faces on the circuit.

"I'm so bored!" Takao sighed. Rei allowed himself a small smile at hearing his friend voice his thoughts.

"Pay attention," Kai answered.

"Oh, come on, Kai. Can you see _anyone_ out there who could touch us?" Takao asked.

Kai was silent for a moment as he stared up at the television set in their locker room. "…No," he eventually replied.

"Still, this is the first time we've been able to show off for over a year. I want everyone to be talking about _us_," Max spoke up.

Takao jumped up and slapped his fist against his palm. "Yeah, let's show the world what we've got! Let's make all of the other teams feel the fear of pre-determined defeat!"

"Pre-determined?" Rei smirked.

Takao flushed. "I heard it in a film a few days ago and liked it," he shook his head, "but anyway, who cares about _that_? We've got to put a show on, right?"

"Well, I don't want us to give away our new moves and strength," Kai interjected, "but I think that making sure we do a great job out there will help us against future opponents."

Rei nodded, "I agree, putting the seed of doubt into someone's head is a really effective tactic."  
Kai glanced at Rei in surprise and Rei flushed and looked away, having forgotten the awkward atmosphere between them for a moment. He kept doing that, especially today, in the qualifier environment. Sitting around with the guys made it really easy to relax and be open, but while that wasn't usually a bad thing, Rei felt like he should be more guarded after what had happened with Kai. He didn't know why, and if he was honest, it was kind of hard to maintain his distance from Kai because strangely enough he missed him. All they'd ever done together was simply hang out, but after over a week of next to no contact with him, Rei found himself constantly wondering what Kai would think about something, or what advice Kai would give him, or what kind of snarky comment Kai would make. It was hard, surprisingly. He'd never really had a best friend before. Rai had been more like a stand-in brother, and Takao and Max were more like his loveable cousins or something, but Kai filled that special best friend role that Rei had needed in his life. Kai had been a quiet source of support and guidance, and someone who he could talk about the kind of stuff he that couldn't talk to anyone else about.

The problem was that when Rei tried to shrug off all of the awkwardness and just act normally with Kai, he was seized with unease and his chest would ache. He just couldn't bring himself to get over what had happened, even though it was kind of normal. He'd read up on it, on the Internet he'd found out that it was pretty common for boys to… do that sort of thing to each other, and the advice had always said that there was nothing gay to it and there was nothing wrong with experimentation. It was more than that though. Something about it seemed inherently wrong and almost shameful even though various sources had told him differently.

Rei knew though, what was holding him back above all other things. It had taken him five nights of tossing and turning for him to realise that above all else, above even the fact that Kai was a man, it was fear that was preventing him from bridging that chasm between him and his best friend. It was something secret that Rei would never admit to, but he really wasn't a very sexual person. He'd been made to feel weird for that, since the teenage years were a man's most sexually charged period, but he seemed to be suddenly coming to it himself, late and much too fast. To go from pleasuring himself leisurely every day or two, Rei was suddenly engaging in and getting turned on from seductive activities, losing himself in passion and forgetting himself. And now, to have someone try to touch him; _someone else_ touching him where no one but him had ever touched before, bringing him to orgasm, leaving him vulnerable… it was too overwhelming for him and if he was honest, it was leaving him slightly terrified.

That was why he was avoiding Kai. He didn't want anyone to see him like that, especially not someone he held in such a high regard. It was probably _because_ of that high regard that he so often got carried away. He trusted Kai, and it seemed that his body did too, but paradoxically it was _because_ of that regard that Rei didn't want Kai to see him at his weakest. It was all just a big mess and it was leaving him extremely frazzled.

Rei glanced around him and was relieved to notice that the others hadn't noticed his and Kai's 'interaction'. Instead they seemed to be engaged in excited chatter, completely oblivious to Rei and Kai's worry. He was thankful for their unexpected silent understanding, because he was fully aware that they'd noticed that something was off between him and Kai, and yet they hadn't addressed it. This pleased him to no end because he had no idea how to even begin explaining it. While the guys were good friends, Rei had a sneaking suspicion that they had never participated in these apparently commonplace activities, and would likely jump to the wrong conclusion if Rei even started to explain that he and Kai were using each other for relationship practice.

He sighed and toyed with his blade, staring at the bitchip that contained his precious sacred spirit Byakko. He received a comforting thrum and a slight sense of relaxation, but as usual the tiger offered no solutions to his problem.

"Right," Kai's voice interrupted his thoughts. "We're up in fifteen minutes. You all know where to go, right?"

The group all nodded. Mr Daitenji had come up with the idea of each of them taking on those who had been knocked out in free-for-all battle. They would join a group of a few challengers, and the last one standing from each would go on to form another challenger team. It was pretty clear that the members of Team BBA would be the champions of their respective dishes, so it was really just 'the last one standing before Kai, Rei, Takao or Max knocked them out of the dish', but obviously that was a bit long-winded to say. It seemed complicated, but none of them minded since it was an opportunity to get more battling in.

The following ten minutes dragged on horribly, but eventually it was time and on cue the entire team straightened up, wished each other luck and moved off to their own area. Rei trudged towards his group without much enthusiasm. Sure it would be nice to show off a little, but these were guys who'd been _knocked out_ and judging from the mixed looks of terror and adoration on their faces as he approached them, he wasn't likely to get a great battle out of any of them.

He stood patiently as Mr Daitenji appeared and rambled on about what was going on, at which the crowd screamed with approval. He offered a small smile when he heard his name mentioned and felt the spotlight fall upon him.

And then the hall fell eerily silent and sound of the countdown filled his ears. Readying himself with a smoothness that spoke volumes of how practiced the motion was, Rei set his blade into his launcher, slid his feet slightly further apart and tore his arm backwards, sending his blade sailing into the dish in a silver flash. Almost immediately, he had taken out three of the potentials and was fast coming down on the ones who were clearly the weakest of the bunch.

A thunderous roar filled the arena as the crowd screamed, and Rei glanced at the screen and found Kai's face plastered upon it. He shook his head and couldn't quite hold back the smirk stretching across his lips, feeling both amused and strangely proud.

The crowd yelled again and this time Takao's face flicked onto the screen. Taking it as his cue, Rei turned his attention back to the dish, let out a few orders and took down the last remaining blades. The crowd showed their appreciation, and Rei offered them a smile and a wave before he turned and wandered back to the locker rooms while the judges decided on who would be offered another chance. He noticed that Kai was sitting on the bench, one leg propped up on the wood as he took a gulp from his water bottle, as soon as he entered. He froze when he locked eyes with Rei, and Rei shifted from foot to foot, trying to think of something to say.

"Phew, that was- where's Takao?" Max's voice made Rei jump and he snapped out of his thoughts.

"Still waving to the crowds," Kai replied quietly, looking away. Rei felt his heart clench unpleasantly, though he wasn't sure why.

Max however, laughed. "Trust him."

"Trust who?" Takao interrupted as he strolled in.

"Never mind," Max chuckled.

Takao didn't seem too eager to push it. Instead he whistled under his breath. "They've got to have a fifteen-minute break to fix themselves up, and then they're going to have the deciding matches. Gah!" he sighed, and flopped heavily down onto the bench. "It's going to be at least another half an hour before we go out again. This is so _boring_."

In an act of forced normality, Rei brushed past Max and moved to sit down on the same bench as Kai, though he sat about as far away as he could. Kai's eyes remained fixed on the locker in front of him.

It was going to be a long wait.

The opposing team turned out to be made up of three boys and one girl. They looked like an odd bunch to say the least. One of the boys was extremely tall and dark-skinned marking him as clearly _not_ Japanese. The other two were twins- identical ones at that, with baby pink hair and startling blue eyes, but far from sweet, they looked rather daunting. The girl was rather exotic, an albino, but asides from those striking features she was only pretty in the most generic sort of way.

Their blading skill, if watching their previous matches today had proved true, left a lot to be desired. Of course, Rei _was_ measuring them against Team BBA, which was a little unfair since Team BBA were the undisputed champions of the sport. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if some of the newer generation of bladers were looking forwards to Kai and the rest of them bowing out of competitive blading.

Because, really. As long as _they_ were around, no one else stood a chance.

"Rei goes first," Kai announced as they sat on the bench awaiting Blader DJ to finish his ceremonial speech.

Rei blinked in surprise and turned to face Kai.

Takao's mouth pulled sharply downwards. "But, Kai! _I_ want to go first."

"You go second," Kai responded. Takao made to argue further, but Kai crossed his arms and looked away to scan his eyes over the beydish, indicating that the discussion was over.

"Representing the challengers, please give a thunderous welcome to…" Blader DJ paused, evidently having finished his initial ramblings about beyblading. Rei had to hand it to him though; he knew how to do his job better than anyone else. "The snowy-haired beauty, Yuri!" True enough, the crowd roared in answer. "And," Blader DJ continued, gesturing the Team BBA with a sweep of his arm. "Representing the defending champions," he paused for a second, and Rei was professional enough to know that that was his cue. Pushing aside all confusion and doubts, Rei stood in a fluid and unhesitant movement. "The legendary blader with the ferocity of a tiger, Rei Kon!" He wanted to wince at the usual over-the-top introduction, but the hysterical screaming of the crowd seemed to prove that once again, Blader DJ knew best.

"Push it to the limit!" Max shouted after him.

As Rei moved over to the dish, he found that his body and mind had grown calmer. It wasn't surprising, and it was entirely welcome after the week of stress he'd had. After all, Rei had meditated for years, and a lot of his early beyblade training had revolved around quiet contemplation and concentration. Nowadays, though he was passionate once his blade had been launched, he often found himself slipping into a mildly meditative, calm state just before his blade hit the dish.

"You might think you're all that, but I'm going to beat you! All I know is that to me, you look like you're lots of fun," The girl – Yuri? Rei smiled, picturing Yuriy's reaction to that- called out. Rei found her trash talk sweet, but didn't deign to respond, and in a move so practiced it was done without thought, set his blade to his launcher and raised it.

"Bladers! Are you ready?" DJ gave them a moment to object, but when neither spoke up, he grinned and clapped his hands together. "Three, two, one; Go shoot!"

Rei's blade was nothing more than a silver flash. The girl's blade was a teal sort of shade, and the two left a swirl of pale colour as they circled one another cautiously, not entirely unlike a pair of predators measuring one another up.

Outwardly calm, Rei's mind was racing, analysing the situation with cool professionalism. The girl wasn't bad, but she seemed to be a more defensive player, more likely to wait to counter than to outright rush into an attack.

Rei smirked. "Driger, attack!" he called out. The sacred tiger within the blade listened and responded, surging forwards in a gleaming blur, bearing down upon the other blade.

The girl grinned. "Hah!" he laughed. "Your impatience has led you right into my trap! Empea, counter attack!" The teal blade wavered in response, before crashing into Driger and intercepting its charge. Her cocky smile faded, however, as soon as she looked back at the utterly calm expression on her opponent's face. When his eyes flickered down, she followed them, and blanched in horror at the sight of Driger using the force of her attack to swing around and come back at twice the speed and power. She realised, far too late, that Rei had not only been expecting her counter, but had used it against her and for his own benefit, rather than simply just avoiding it.

Yuri conceded with a small smile, as her blade bounced off the floor by her feet, that she was still quite a way off matching the heights that the BBA had reached.

"Thanks," she said. "It was an honour."

Rei smiled back at her. "You're a good player. Keep at it, okay?"

"Okay!" She agreed, screaming on the inside about the fact that _the _Rei Kon had just complimented her. Still, with her future career in mind, she forced her face to keep as neutral as possible. "I hope to battle you again some day." Rei smiled and nodded at that, and, fighting to keep herself from grinning in excitement, she turned around and marched back off to her seat.

"And Rei takes the first match!" DJ shouted, causing the crowd to scream in approval. Rei gave them a small wave before he turned around and walked back to his bench. Takao passed him on the way, already ready to battle before Blader DJ had even announced that the second match was about to start.

It wasn't rude that Rei didn't pay attention to the following match. Takao was Takao, so when the arena filled with the sound of a roaring tornado followed by the clattering of a beyblade hitting the ground, none of his team needed an instruction manual to tell them what had happened.

"And Takao whips up a storm with his Dragoon, obliterating the competition," Blader DJ shouted into his microphone, shamelessly flaunting his puns. "Which all means that the BBA Revolution have taken the victory. Now, as per usual we will have three battles, so this is the challenger's chance to take the glory of bringing down one of the BBA." He paused to make a sweeping gesture. "Teams, you may now select your next player."

Max fidgeted; sliding slightly forwards on his bench in order to stand, when Kai stood up suddenly, scarf swishing around him rather dramatically.

"Kai?" Max asked, eyes wide in question.

Kai glanced at them all, though Rei could have sworn his eyes lingered on him.

Then he nodded once. "I'm taking this one."

As if the crowed was waiting with bated breath, the moment Kai took a step forward noise erupted in the area, louder than ever before. They cheered and stomped so loudly in wild excitement that Rei found himself smiling at their infectious joy.

Blader DJ however, was struggling to make himself heard. "And the BBA have sent out Kai Hiwatari." The crowd –if possible- roared even louder. "The challengers have sent out Fuuma Hiroto."

Fuuma –one of the twins- paled and stared at Kai with a mildly horrified expression, obviously having anticipated Max to be his opponent. Rei couldn't help but pity him since Kai's reputation was legendary. The fact that Kai so rarely battled in competitions helped that opinion along, so him taking the initiative to fight the third round was a hugely exciting (or dreadful, in Fuuma's case) surprise for everyone.

Rei fought back a chuckle as Kai took his sweet time approaching the dish. Intentionally, Rei was sure, the boy was at least _slightly_ sardonic after all.

Kai's opponent didn't seem as amused.

"Now as we all know, this is sadly Kai's last year competing," Blader DJ went on, waiting as the crowd made various distressed noises. "But it looks like he wants to get off to a fantastic start to it by showing the next generation how the pros do it!"

Kai reached the dish and stared straight ahead, making his opponent fidget. Rei felt almost sorry for the boy.

"Bladers, are you ready?" DJ announced, causing the crowd to immediately quiet down. Kai and his opponent raised their launchers.

"Three!"

Kai shifted his feet until they were shoulder width apart.

"Two!"

Red eyes flickered to stare right at Rei, and for some reason, he suddenly found it hard to swallow.

"One!"

Kai's lips moved, but Rei couldn't understand what he was saying. He frowned lightly and tried to make sense of them, but—

"Go shoot!"

Kai was no longer facing him and was instead sending his blade darting into the dish in a blue blur. The crowd gasped though, when they noticed the blade give a threatening wobble as soon as it had hit.

"It's too slow!" Takao hissed. "I don't know what he's doing out there, but it's too slow. He's not going to last a minute at the speed he's going at!"

Max stared at Takao before turning his gaze to Kai. "Why would he _do_ that?"

"Kai doesn't seem to have gotten off to a strong start, and his opponent has noticed this. Could this possibly be a day that we see the great Kai Hiwatari proved past his best?" Blader DJ yelled, whipping the crowd into frenzy and causing Kai's opponent to smirk with newfound confidence.

Rei however, felt a strange sort of indignation wash through him. Kai? Past his best? How could anyone even _say_ that? The boy was a genius, he was the best of the best when it came to blading for Goodness' sake!

"I don't know what's going on. He's not concentrating!" Kyouju announced, looking panicked. "His readings are completely unheard of. His output's low, his rotational speed is decaying rapidly… if I didn't know Kai so well, I'd say that he'd done this intentionally to lose."

"Shut up," Rei snapped, causing wide eyes to turn on him. "He's never let us down when it matters and he doesn't _do_ lack of concentration. Have some trust in him. He knows what he's doing!"

"How can you be so sure, Rei?" Takao asked, though he no longer sounded quite as shocked. If anything, he looked to be considering the possibility.

"I don't know," Rei admitted. "I don't, but I know Kai too well to ever think that he doesn't know exactly what he's doing when it comes to his blade. I just… I trust him." He was surprised at his own words. For the past week he'd been unable to do anything but _mis_trust Kai, but now… He didn't know how to explain it, but it suddenly occurred to him that Kai really _was_ someone who wouldn't let them down. He wouldn't let _Rei_ down.

Kai's blade was moving slowly now, but it still swerved quite neatly, leading his opponent around the dish in swirling patterns. Without even being aware of it, Rei rose to his feet, causing Kai to glance back at him. Kai's opponent took it as his cue, and punched an arm into the air.

"Amphara, attack!" he screamed. His blade accepted the order, surging forwards at an increased pace.

Kai smirked victoriously and turned back to his opponent. "Dranzer, dip!"

The crowd gasped as Kai's blue blade followed his lead, leaning precariously towards his fast-approaching opponent's blade. It seemed to be a mad strategy, especially when the other blade hit Dranzer and sent it flipping up into the air.

"There's no way it can land!" Max gasped.

"Shhh," Rei hissed. _He's going to do it_. _I don't know how, but he's going to do it._

Dranzer had finished its upward surge and was beginning its descent. If someone had slightly less sharp eyes than Rei, they wouldn't have noticed that the downward momentum was causing the blade to spin slowly. At that second, Rei got it, and he could feel nothing but awe and pride.

"Do it, Kai," he whispered as a smile spread across his lips.

Though Kai couldn't hear him, he responded. "Suzaku!" he shouted, summoning his mighty bird out of the blade. The rotation of the blade accelerated as flames erupted from it, building up just enough speed so that the _second_ it hit the dish again, it darted off like a flaming rocket straight into the completely unprepared blade of his opponent.

The crowd remained locked in a stunned silence as the blade imbedded in the wall on the opposite side of the arena stopped smoking. Kai's hand flicked out, snatching Dranzer back as it streaked towards him, turning away with a dramatic swish of his scarf as soon as he had caught it.

It was then the audience erupted into screams, shouts and cheers. It was also at that moment that Rei remembered just why he valued Kai so much in the first place. For everyone in the room, Kai had reaffirmed that he was the one who would put on the _best_ show in the entire sport. He was the _original_ champion, and final circuit or not, he had just proved that he wasn't about to go out with anything less than a bang.

"And in a _fantastic_ display, Kai Hiwatari takes the last match! Team BBA win the Japanese tournament," Blader DJ announced. The rest of his speech was lost on Rei as Kai approached the benches and was swarmed by the rest of the team.

Kai was smirking, looking entirely pleased with himself, but strangely Rei felt his heart constrict painfully.

Without a word, Rei turned and hurried off into the corridor.

"Hey!"

Rei stopped dead in his tracks, swinging back to find Kai fast approaching him, catching up with him only moments after he'd left the main room.

"Hi," he responded simply.

"Where are you going?" Kai asked, voice strangely low.

"I'm not…" 'sure' was what Rei wanted to say, but he thought it would make him look a little strange. So instead he said; "Can we talk?"

Kai's frown faded and he stared at Rei with wide eyes for a moment before he nodded curtly and walked past the other, heading towards the nearest door. Rei followed him, thankful that the door wasn't locked and glanced around once at the empty hallway before following Kai inside the room.

Flicking on the lights revealed that it was a locker room; similar to the one they had been in earlier.

"I don't think anyone's using this one," Kai muttered.

Rei nodded. "Okay."

They stood in silence for a while; neither one venturing any words until Kai finally grew impatient. "So…"

"Yeah," Rei agreed. "You…" he trailed off, unsure of what it was he wanted to say in the first place. "You wanted to give him a shot, didn't you?" He said instead.

"That Fuuma kid?" Kai asked, answered by Rei's nod. "Yeah. I wanted him to have a chance of battling me on a slightly more even playing field. I wasn't about to just _let_ him win, but I was interested to see what he'd do with me."

Rei chuckled. "Everyone thought you'd screwed up in the beginning."

"Yeah, what little faith they all have in me," Kai smiled. "You knew from the start though, didn't you?"

Rei looked away and smiled. "You don't _do_ screwing up, Kai. You always know what you're doing."

"Well, I do with blading at least," Kai replied, and Rei was thankful for the unspoken implication, though he wasn't sure why. "I guess you just know me too well."

"I guess so," Rei replied. "Kai , you were… I mean, that really was…" was _what_? Rei found himself reflecting upon the match he had witnessed. The edge of the seat excitement and anticipation, the tactical mastery, the flashy finish… Kai was an utter credit to the sport and the thought of him not being there next year made Rei's chest hurt. There would never be another Kai; there would never be someone with such professionalism and flamboyant showmanship.

How on Earth could Rei put that into words? How could he possibly begin to express the pride he felt at being friends with such an amazing person? How could he ever tell anyone sufficiently how _lucky_ he was that he had _Kai_ as his Beyblading partner?

Most of all, how could he even put into words how much he'd missed his closest friend during the last week.

He was only dimly aware that he was approaching Kai, and even less in control of his actions when he reached up to place his palms against Kai's cheeks and tilted his face downwards as he expressed all of his apologies and admiration by pressing his lips to Kai's.

_I'm sorry,_ he wanted to say. _I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. You're the person I admire most in the world. I don't want to feel uncomfortable with you any more because I don't like it when you're not in my life. You're my best friend. You're my _hero_._

A kiss was the only way the could think of to express the jumbled up mess in his head, and, call him crazy, but there was something about the way that Kai's arms tightened around him as he kissed him back that said _I'm sorry too._

Kai broke away from the kiss for a moment, and opened his mouth to say something, but just like Rei, he gave up on words and plunged his mouth back down onto Rei's, swinging his body around at the same time to non too gently pin Rei against the wall next to the door. The younger of the two made a small noise of surprise, but soon refocused upon their kiss, tongue meeting the other's with just as much enthusiasm.

There was something strangely desperate in their motions, and their relief was tinged with sadness. They'd missed each other. Not just this physical intimacy, but also their presence in each other's lives, their friendship, their moral support for one another. Neither of them could believe it. How could they _ever_ have let themselves lose sight of what was important? They were best friends and they had let a wall of silence and discomfort grow between them. They had complicated what should have been simple.

In all, Rei felt nothing but shame, and to his surprise it had _nothing_ to do with kissing another boy. What he was ashamed of was how he had reacted the previous week. Kai was his closest friend and he'd made a mistake. He wasn't _gay_, he had just got carried away with whatever fantasy he'd been having, and who could blame him for that? Rei himself had lost sight of the situation they had been in.

There was that strange thrill again. Kai's fingers were digging almost painfully into his shoulders, and his tongue was relentlessly demanding ownership of his mouth, leaving Rei feeling utterly dominated. He didn't mind so much though. He was the one who'd fucked up more than Kai, so the least he could do was to allow Kai to have the upper hand. He wasn't in much of a position to complain either, since his head was beginning to spin.

Kai left Rei's mouth and tilted his head lower, gusting extremely _hot_ air across the skin of Rei's neck. Rei shuddered at the sensation, not remembering his neck being so sensitive before. He tilted his head back, annoyed when the other didn't do anything else. Kai sent back a puff of air that may have been a laugh, before attaching his mouth to the unblemished neck. Rei's eyes fluttered as once again he was reminded of just how _good_ that sort of thing helped. He clutched onto Kai's arms, finding that his lungs felt strangely heavy in his chest, almost like he was being constricted, but though it made him breathe more heavily, the feeling wasn't exactly unpleasant.

It didn't take long for a well-known tingling sensation below the belt line to make itself known. Rei blushed at it, berating himself for not expecting it to happen. He hadn't touched himself all week due to his and Kai's previous _incident_ and now he was feeling it. If he wasn't careful, Kai would feel it too, and that would be horribly embarrassing.

Shaken from his pleasure haze, Rei very subtly (because he'd only just made amends with Kai- he didn't want to give him the wrong impression) tried to slide out from Kai's grip. Kai on the other hand responded by tightening his hold, pressing Rei further against the wall to prevent his escape. Rei shifted his hips away from Kai's body as much as he could, but Kai must have mistaken his movement for him trying to pull away. Somewhere in the squirming that followed, Kai's thigh managed to press itself firmly against Rei's crotch.

A thick groan tore itself from Rei's throat before he could do anything to quash it, and Kai froze suddenly, obviously taken by surprise. Then, tentatively, he pressed his thigh closer to Rei, rubbing slightly as he did so which caused Rei to shudder and grip onto him tighter. Against his expectations, Rei didn't feel embarrassed, as he'd expected. If anything, for the first time in a long time, his mind was perfectly blank and free of the stupid worries that had been weighing him down. The heat and the sudden neediness of desire running through him made it too difficult to think anyway. He revelled in his momentary freedom, and clutched at Kai, panting and rubbing himself slowly, but insistently against Kai's leg as the need for relief overrode any doubts he might have otherwise had if his mind had been clearer.

In a sudden motion, despite what had happened before, Kai moved back momentarily before replacing his thigh with his hand. Burying his face into Rei's neck, Kai leaned heavily against the younger one as his hand roughly kneaded the noticeable lump of Rei's erection through the flimsy material of his trousers. Rei's head hit the wall, face tilted upwards towards the ceiling as his eyes rolled back, far too gone to offer any sort of protest.

This would be what it would feel like with a woman doing it to him, he told himself, though he regretted that a woman's hand would be smaller and not as firm. Regardless of any of that though, what it _felt_ like was utter bliss. Heat was raging within him now and Kai's hand scorched him, even through the cloth of his trousers. The feeling intensified beyond all belief when Kai reclaimed his hand for a moment before his fingertips fumbled for the zipper of Rei's trousers and yanked it down, before finding the elasticised waist of his underwear and plunging his hand past it to pull out Rei's cock. After moment's hesitation, Kai took it in his fist and began to jerk him in a fast, sharp rhythm.

Rei cried out, unable to believe how mind-blowing it all felt. His stomach squirmed and knees shook. He found it a struggle to even keep standing and clutched onto the other as if he was a lifeline. Kai's breath exploded hotly against his neck in a similar beat to his own ragged pants, causing goose bumps to rise across his flesh. His body was beginning to tremble, his hips quivering as they answered the motion of Kai's fist, and it felt as if molten heat was pooling in the pit of his stomach. Even the wet sounds of Kai's hand jerking him and their heavy breathing seemed nothing less than erotic to him as he lost his mind more and more to the thing building up inside of him.

The sensation of Kai running the pad of his thumb over the head of his erection proved to be the catalyst to his downfall. Something inside of him snapped, and with a strangled sob, he shuddered once before driving his hips into Kai's hand. Though Kai slowed in his motions, he did not stop as Rei spasmed against him, milking him for everything he could give and only stopping when Rei had finished spurting.

Rei let out a shuddering sigh of satisfaction and slumped forward against the other. He relished in this utterly sated feeling, wanting to focus on that rather than worry about what had just happened. Kai on the other hand was staring in shock, red eyes fixed on the spot where Rei's head was buried in his shoulder, and monumentally surprised at what he'd just done.

Still neither could deny that it was nice to be this close again. It was really strangely comforting.

--

Takao looked at his watch as he swung his feet to and fro. "Where _are_ those two?

"I don't know," Max replied gravely. "But I hope they make friends again soon."


End file.
